Tales of Wackidonia
by Tsundere-Kun
Summary: What really happened on the Regneration Journey. Rated T for the reason of a certain Tethe'eallan. & others too. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT COMPLETED BOTH GAMES AT LEAST ONCE.  Not Beta-ed.
1. After The War

**Disclainer : **I DON'T OWN ToS. If I did, this's what would've happened.

PLEASE NOTE: This chapter has been edited from it's original version.

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Chapter 1

A Dense Forest Near The City Of Hima: 3,986 years after the Great Kharlan War.

In silence, a single figure stood in a clearing. Just the way he liked it; peace, quiet, and best of all, solitude. As he unconsciously began going through the motions he'd been perfecting for over 4,000 years, his sword in hand, flowing like the wind. He soon became lost in his own thoughts, not worrying about messing up any techniques as he did so.

Suddenly pausing, the man threw a small dagger behind him at the incoming stranger, his auburn hair flying as he whipped around to face the intruder.

"Calm down, it's only me," A young man stated, the dagger in his hand, as the cape behind him billowed in the wind. "If you would mind not attacking me, Kratos?"

"Simply return the dagger and get out of here, Yuan." Kratos responded sourly as he returned to his practicing with his sword, the Flamberge.

"Enough of the swordplay and actually be serious with me for-"

Right when he heard Yuan call his techniques "swordplay", Kratos spun around to face his blue-haired acquaintance. "Don't insult me, Yuan. Or you can say good-bye to your status in those accursed Renegades of yours."

Yuan chuckled despite the other's angry words. "Who else would lead them, you? I doubt Lord Yggdrasill will want that," He retorted, spitefully. "One of the four is more than enough to make him angry."

"At the very least, you would end your delusion of-"

"I'm not the one who's delusional!" The half-elven male replied, eyes narrowing slightly. "Don't you see what will happen if his plans succeed? Even if you're able to revive Martel, it will never be the same, Kratos!" They paused, the younger of the two staring silently at his friend as the bluenette's expression saddened. "...She won't ever be the same. You know that."

With a shake of his head, Kratos turned away from Yuan. "I'm sure you're aware of that as well. Isn't that why you wish to allow her to move on? Because you care for her?" His gaze flickered back momentarily, the human rotating a bit to extend a hand to quietly request his dagger.

Yuan sighed. "You don't know what it's like...To lose someone so close to you."

Dark red, almost brown eyes spun around to glare at the Renegade leader. "Just because you don't know of-" Kratos' hand clenched tightly, his voice losing its' hostility. He turned on his heel and left the clearing, a soft "don't assume, Yuan" hanging in the air as he headed for the inn within the nearby town of Iselia.

The blue-haired half-elf watched as his oldest, and best, friend left his presence. Then he, too, left in order to return to the Renegade Base in the land of Triet.

What the—? What happened here? Kratos wondered as he entered through the gate of the village. No…it couldn't have been them. The Desians would never attack u—"Forcystus!" Kratos practically growled when he spotted the aqua-haired, one-eyed Desian. "What did you do to this place?"

"Ah, Kratos, so sorry you couldn't join us in burning this despicable village to the ground." Forcystus responded sarcastically, quickly turning as to not leave his back to Kratos. "Too bad one escaped, but I'm sure I can fix tha—"

"Why did you do this?" He demanded, gripping the Desian's collar. "For what reason did you and your men do this?"

Taken aback, Forcystus replied, "I'll tell you if you let go of me, Kratos."

"Tell me." Kratos' grip loosened considerably as Forcystus fell to the ground, barely keeping his balance, as his collar slipped out from Kratos' grasp as he let go.

"If you must know, we received information that the fool host body A012, more commonly known as Anna, escaped Kvar's ranch to this village; but all we saw of her was her brown hair in a braid. She—"

"What happened to her?"

"She's the one who escaped. To where, none of us know."

He took a moment to fully understand everything then hurriedly left Iselia for the forest past Iselia's Human Ranch. Anna…stay safe and do the one thing I have been foolish enough not to do as of late: protect our son, Kratos thought as he scaled the trail up to the house of the dwarf, Dirk Irving.

While he was just a few yards from Dirk's house, Kratos heard an all too familiar sound; the sound of Kvar's holier-than-thou-filled voice. "Stop running away and give me your exsphere."

"Please, Sir, leave my son be. He's too young to defend hims—I-"

"I don't want him, only that exsphere of yours. Now hand it over."

Angered, Kratos silently crept up behind the small group of Desians and took out all but Kvar. His single mistake was to leave Kvar until he was the only one left. For at the exact moment Kratos was against the final Desian, Kvar removed Anna's exsphere from the back of her hand just as the Desian fell to the ground.

The moment her exsphere was taken, the young child behind his mother cringed at the sight of the monster she had become. Kratos immediately rushed to Anna's aid, facing Kvar.

"What have you done, Kvar?" Kratos questioned; his glare like daggers. "Give me her exsphere, or I shall destroy—"

"Whaahhh!" Cutting him short, the cry of his son broke into the air. Kratos swiftly injured Kvar, took the exsphere, and whipped around to aid his son right when a large, white and green dog jumped in front of the boy, growling at Anna.

"Noishe, no!"

"Please…Kratos…save yourself and…kill me…No fate…could be worse…than this…" Anna pleaded. Then, her body lashed out and missed his arm by only a small span of space. The result was her falling to her knees, "Please…Kratos…save…Lloyd."

I suppose you give me no choice. I will avenge you, Anna. Kratos vowed solemnly in his mind. Kratos paused only momentarily, his expression heavy with sadness, before plunging the Flamberge into the place just below where Anna's heart would be, even in the form of a monster. She reverted back to her previous form, crumbling to her knees. Slowly, Anna turned around on the ground to pick up her son. Her husband took an apprehensive step forward, passing Noishe. "Are you…alright, Anna?"

Anna stood up, turned towards Kratos, but before she could answer, both her and child fell backwards as she fainted—Noishe quickly ran down the trail to where she and the child would land—leaving Kratos and Kvar on the cliff top.

What have I done to her? No…Kratos whipped around to glare down at Kvar. "Why did you do that? You idiotic, mindless—" his rage building.

"Orders. Lord Yggdrasill found out about who she was and he personally came to see me." Kvar's voice was reproachful as he tried to stand up. "I—" Although he just fell down to one knee, so his try was futile. "I have to say though. You seem to have only fought us because she was in danger, and I must say that only one as weak as that would-"

"Weak?" Kratos demanded, grip tightening on the Flamberge's hilt. "I am not the one who needed at least ten of his men to track down a defenseless woman and her child." No matter how much he wanted to kill the man right then and there, Kratos knew he couldn't. He knew, as one of The Four Seraphim, it would look very suspicious if he killed one of the Desian Five Grand Cardinals. The human warrior turned away, unfurling his wings.

"Just where are you going?" A man with long, blond hair and ice cold aquamarine eyes inquired evenly.

Damnit. Kratos' face was impassive even though he felt like taking off to see what had become of Anna. "Lord Yggdrasill." He responded as both Kratos and Kvar turned to face the new-comer.

Lord Yggdrasill sighed in annoyance before repeating, "Where are you going, Kratos?" The blond glanced temporarily over at Kvar dismissively. "I didn't think I'd find your Desians beaten by a single mercenary, Kvar. They need training." He snapped back to questioning Kratos. "Well?"

"I was just about to return to the Tower of Salvation, Lord Yggdrasill." Kratos quickly lied as he began to float up, off the cliffside. "Now if you would excuse me, I must be going."

"So you're Lord Kratos..." Kvar muttered.

Just to make it look he had been telling the truth, Kratos flew off behind the forest before going down to the base of the cliff. Nothing but corpses...not even a trace that told him either Anna or Lloyd had survived. Silence grasped the man tightly, unwilling to let him go in order to allow him movement. Dark red-ish brown eyes surveyed the area around him, not wanting to believe he had been the cause of the death of his family. Yet he knew deep within that it was true. With that single thought, Kratos' knees gave way and he would have fallen straight to the ground if he hadn't caught himself with his palms. "I never should have...I can't believe he was right. Damnit, Yuan." A soft tap made contact with the back of his hand, focusing Kratos' attention on the small dark circle upon his glove which was soon joined by more. Slowly, the man straightened his back and sat kneeling on the ground, simply staring in awe at his hands. "...Tears?" His right hand rose to his cheek to find it dry. "If not, then…?" Kratos looked up and watched as small droplets of water fell from the dark clouds overhead. He let out a short bark of a laugh at the irony of his situation, although a small smile graced his lips as he did. "Thank you."


	2. In the Beginning

I'm not gonna do this every chapter. You see it once, it goes for the whole thing. I NO OWN ToS. & if it's not **_already_ **obvious, this's my 1st fic. so be nice, k?

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Chapter 2

Dirk's House: 4,000 years after the Great Kharlan War

14 years have passed, and Kratos' prediction came true. Lloyd's sixteen-year-old attitude was plainly this: I HATE SCHOOL! I DON'T WANNA STUDY! IT'S SO DULL!! Also, I DON'T CARE IF YOU SAY I'M LAZY, I LIKE BEING LAZY!!!

"Lloyd…Lloyd! Focus, Lloyd!" Dirk Irving stood between his adopted son and his dinner as he commanded Lloyd to do what he had told him to do.

"Uh…Dwarven Vow number seven is…'Goodness and love will always win'." Lloyd reached for the ramen he was about to be able to eat. "Now can I eat, Dad?"

"What is Dwarven Vow number one?"

"Oh, uh…it's…wait a second! You said I only had to recite Dwarven Vow number seven, so can you let me eat my ramen now?"

"Okay, okay. You can eat, Lloyd."

Just then, a young boy's voice called from the front door, "Hey, Lloyd! Hurry up and eat so we can go meet up with Colette in Iselia!"

Quickly inhaling his food, Lloyd ran over to the door. Stopping to ask if he could go with his friend to the, rebuilt, village of Iselia. He received permission and left. "I'll be back before nightfall, Dad! Later!"

"Alright, just don't forget Dwarven Vow number seven."

"I know, I know, I won't." Lloyd promised as he and the other boy left for Iselia.

As he led the way down the path, the younger, silver-haired boy called, "Come on, Lloyd!"

"Hey! Where're you going without me, Genis?" Lloyd questioned, chasing after his best friend. Genis laughed as the gap between Lloyd and himself expanded. He didn't stop trying to widen the span until he reached Iselia's gates where, inside the village, stood a young girl with long, straight, blond hair and eyes the color of the sky. Beside the girl was a woman that had the same color hair a Genis, a small smile on her face.

"Is Lloyd coming with you, Genis?" the woman wondered.

"Genis!" Lloyd's voice rang out as he ran towards Iselia. His form just a black speck in the distance that became laugher and more distinct as he came closer to the others. "I'm gonna—"

"Silence, Lloyd." Ordered the woman as she abruptly stopped Lloyd's movement forward with her out-stretched arm, knocking him backwards.

"Ow…what'd you do that for, Professor Sage?" Lloyd complained as he got up from the ground.

"You lose once again, Lloyd."

"As always," Genis added, but got a slap on the back of his head from Professor Sage.

"Are you alright, Lloyd?" The girl timidly stepped forward and then looked up at Professor Sage. "Isn't almost time for class, Professor Raine?"

"Yes, I'd say it is, Colette." Raine started towards the school house as blond-haired Colette followed. "Hurry up, Genis. Lloyd."

Genis began to follow Raine and Colette to the school house. If I beat you, you've gotta tell me what Dwarven Vow number seven is."

"Not a chance!"

"Why not?" Genis asked as he stepped inside. Lloyd gave his best friend a face that said: 'cause-you-just-won-genius. "Heh, I guess I did, didn't I? Tell me anyway, okay?" Genis requested, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"All it is is 'Goodness and love will always win'." Lloyd recited dully as the two boys took their seats. "Don't you know the Dwarven Vows already?"

"Alright, quiet." Raine ordered as she took her place in the front of the room. "Welcome, everyone, to a new year of learning. Lloyd, please explain what the Great Kharlan War was and who it involved."

"Lloyd, wake—"

"Quiet, Genis. I will not have any whispering in this class while we are in session." Raine softly walked over to Lloyd's desk. "Lloyd Irving."

"…Huh? Y-yeah? What is it, Professor Sage?"

"Back of the room." She stated. "Fill and pick up the buckets and stay there until I tell you that you can sit down."

"Everyday," Lloyd muttered disdainfully. "Why does she do this every—?"

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't sleep during class, Lloyd," Raine commented, causing mostly the whole class to start laughing. She strode up to the front of the room while trying to calm everyone down at the same time. As he slowly drifted of to sleep—still holding the pair of buckets—the class continued their discussion on the Great Kharlan War. Then, Genis raised his hand in question to what Raine just said.

"Yes, Genis?"

"I'm curious. What exactly happens during the Journey of Regeneration? I mean, what is it that so many Chosens have failed to—?"

Suddenly, a flash of light shone through the windows startling Lloyd awake. "Wha-what? What happened?" he questioned almost dropping the buckets of water. "Was that…?"

"Everyone, I'm going to the Temple to see what happened." Raine hurriedly left out the door.

"Should I come too, Professor?"

"No, Colette. One of the priests will come to get you if you're needed. The rest of you, study on your own." After she left, Lloyd quietly set down the buckets and began to slowly slide along the back wall towards the door.

"Where're you going, Lloyd?"

"Oh, uh hey, Colette. Wanna come with me to the Martel Temple?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Uh…it's for resear—"

"Yeah, right, Lloyd. You're just saying that because you want to get out of class early." Genis inputted, seeming to appear out of nowhere.

"Shut it, Genis." Lloyd commanded. "Besides, Dwarven Vow number one; 'Let's all work together for a peaceful world'."

"Oh, brother," Genis shrugged his shoulders as he raised his open hands up into the air in annoyance. "You always use those for an excuse, Lloyd."

"So? An excuse is an excuse, isn't it?"

"Well, if Lloyd's going to go, then so am I." Colette started leading the way out of the school house and up to the temple.

Then, Lloyd and Colette were about to leave Genis behind when he gave up his argument and went with them to the temple. When they arrived, the Pastor came stumbling down the steps, gave Colette instructions, and then never spoke ever again. The trio trudged up the steps only to run into an argument between Colette's grandmother, Phaidara, and a band of Desians. "Where is the Chosen?" the Desian leader questioned.

"Leave, Colette," Phaidara requested.

The Desians turned to face the three children near the edge of the steps. Lloyd, heading straight into battle, unsheathed both his swords and attacked the Desian leader. "Stay away from Colette, Desian!"

"Take care of them, Vidarr," the leader of the Desians ordered sternly.

"Yes, Lord Botta!"

The four of them fought for a while until Lloyd and his friends looked like they were about to collapse from the large amount of energy they had used up already. Just when Vidarr was about to kill Lloyd, as single, weak-looking sword reflected the Desian's attack. _Who's this guy? _Lloyd wondered.

"Get out of the way." A man with auburn hair and dark purple clothes defeated Vidarr in two simple sword strokes.

Phaidara stepped cautiously forward towards the man. "Thank you, Sir, how can I ever repay you?"

"Repayment is not necessary—" He started just before Lloyd interrupted;

"Who the heck do you think you are?!" Lloyd attacked him with a long-distance "Demon Fang". "What the—? How did you block that?"

The man turned around to face Lloyd and asked, "Are all of your sword techniques self-taught?"

"Yeah, why? Is there some kind of problem with that?"

He sighed in annoyance, "Just stay out of my way, child."

"Come on, Lloyd." Genis started, looking over at Lloyd. "You're not going to let this guy talk to you like that, are you?"

"Your name is Lloyd?" The man wondered, his voice sounding as if he were slightly intesested in Lloyd's answer.

"Who are you to ask for my name?" Lloyd countered.

"Lloyd—!" Genis started.

He sighed, annoyed with Lloyd's antics. "Why tell my name only to find out something that I already know?"

_Argh, I'm not gonna let this guy make fun of me like this! _Lloyd shouted in his mind. _Stupid jerk…_

"My name is Kratos Aurion, a mercenary who has come to this area to—"

"Well you won't find anything to do here, so you can just leave," Lloyd retorted rudely, glaring at Kratos.

"Will you protect the Chosen?" Phaidara requested.

"If you can pay me, I will accept the duty of guarding the Chosen." Kratos responded calmly as he scanned the three students for any sign of one of them being the Chosen. "Even if the Chosen turns out to be this ungrateful little child." He continued, gesturing towards Lloyd with a wave of his hand.

"Hey! I'm not a—!"

"You're not even the Chosen, Lloyd." Genis held back his best friend with what appeared to be all his strength. "Colette is, so shut up already."

"That's right!" Colette stated, apparently having forgotten she was the Chosen. "I have to go accept the oracle! Grandmother, I'm going to undergo the trial now." She took a step forward.

"Wait…what trial?"

"The monsters, I assume, Lloyd," Kratos commented. "An evil presence radiates from inside the chapel."

"Yes, that's correct," Phaidra told him. "The Chosen is to receive judgment from heaven. But the priests that were to accompany her fell at the hands of the Desians."

"Then I'll take on the job of protecting Colette," Lloyd offered. _Forget stupid Kratos. He can find some other way to get money._

Phaidra gave him a look as to say; really? "Lloyd?...I would be uneasy with just you." At her statement, Kratos smirks slightly. She then turns toward him, "Will you really protect my granddaughter?" He nods solemnly. "Under the circumstances, I have little choice. Please be of service." Phaidra paid Kratos and then left to go home. As she passed her granddaughter, Colette, she warned, "Be careful, Colette. Lloyd. Genis." She turned to face each of them as she said their names, and then continued on down to Iselia.

"Come, Chosen. You two can go back home, children."

"Argh, stop it!" Lloyd ordered, shouting as he broke free of Genis' grip. "Just stop calling me a kid, dang it! I'm tired of you act—!"

"This journey is too dangerous for someone who isn't able to take criticism from an adult. Especially since she said—never mind. Come, Chosen."

"Fine then," Lloyd comments, trying to control his anger. "I'll just follow you guys on my own, right Genis?"

"Somehow, I knew you were going to say that…"

"Of course!" Lloyd responded with a smirk.

Colette took a small step forward. "Um…if it'd be alright with you, Mr. Kratos, I'd like to have Lloyd come with us. Please? I get nervous when Lloyd's not around. He calms me."

"Stubborn children…" Kratos muttered. "Fine, do as you wish." He turns to go inside the temple and takes a few steps, waiting for Colette to follow.

"Alright! Thanks, Colette!" Lloyd pumped a fist in the air, but then suddenly froze. "…What about Genis? Can he come too, Colette?"

"Sure," she answered simply.

Realizing what Colette had said to the mercenary, Lloyd asks, "Is what you said really…?"

"It's the truth."

Kratos led the way into the temple, commenting dully, "This isn't a field trip, you know."

"I can't wait to see what happens when Colette regenerates the world!" Lloyd shouted excitedly as he and Genis followed Colette and Kratos.

"I just hope you can maintain that enthusiasm." Both Kratos and Genis simultaneously spoke aloud, already getting annoyed with Lloyd's happy-go-lucky attitude.

Entering the temple, they continued straight ahead but then got blocked by some sort of force field. The four of them searched for the artifact Colette called the "Sorcerer's Ring" which could help them get past the field. After locating it, they defeated all the monsters that came across their path, Lloyd was given the ring to use—by Colette's decision as the Chosen—since everyone, except Lloyd, knew he'd get bored first. The four of them passed through the opened passage, after Lloyd opened it, and then warped up to the altar in the Martel Temple where Colette then offered her prayers.

Suddenly, a blond man with pure white angel wings appeared out of a floating ball of yellow light that descended from the ceiling from out of nowhere. "Chosen of Regeneration, I am Remiel. I am an angel of judgment. I am here to guide Colette, daughter of the mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the seventh Chosen. The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the center of the world."

"Awaken the Goddess Martel… It's just like the legend Raine told us about," Genis commented.

"…"After a small glare from someone in the Chosen's group, he continued, "From this moment, Colette becomes the Chosen of Regeneration. We of Cruxis bless this event, and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant."

"So that's the Tower of Salvation!" Lloyd said excitedly.

"Now the world will be saved!" Genis agreed.

"Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration," Remiel addressed, sounding like some sort of sage. "Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to heaven in distant lands."

"I humbly accept this task," Colette replied.

"Very good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated."

"Thank you. I swear on my life I will regenerate the world," she promised.

"First head south, to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land," Remiel explained calmly and sage-like.

"Yes, Lord Remiel." Just as Remiel began to float up and away from them, Colette pleaded, "Uh, wait! Please wait! I have a question I wish to ask of you. Are you really my fa—

"First head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? My beloved daughter, Colette."

"F…father!…So you really are my true father."

"We shall meet again at the next seal, my daughter."

"I promise, I will…Father." Remiel left, leaving no trace that he had ever been there. They all paused a moment before Kratos took a step back and warped back down to the first floor of the Martel Temple. Following him was first Colette, then Genis, and finally Lloyd. Lloyd and Genis were the last to leave, but when they reached the circular room that connected to the outside they faced the one person they weren't counting on running into: Raine.

"Professor Sage?" Lloyd asked.

Raine slowly turned around to face them. "Lloyd, Genis? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, we were uh—"

"You were supposed to stay in the classroom studying!" Raine said just before punishing both Genis and Lloyd.

The pair was on their way, Raine had already left, they heard a voice laughing. "MUHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Lloyd looked back, startled. "What was that?"

"…You're better off not knowing," Genis replied exasperatedly.

Back in Iselia, the two boys didn't regret what happened—only what happened to them—at the temple. They decided to go to Dirk's house instead of staying around Raine. "Your sister's going to be busy. And besides, she did tell us class was over for today." Lloyd's voice was as carefree as a flying bird.

"I know, but if we're going to go to Dirk's can we stop at my house first?"

"Sure, why?"

"I need to get some things."

"For you, me, and your little animal friend?" Lloyd wondered, laughing a little at his knowledge of what Genis was trying to hide.

"Marble's not an—whoops." Genis scurried inside his house as he told Lloyd he could come inside too.

"So who's Marble?" Lloyd asked, wandering around the single-roomed house.

"She's—never mind." Genis passed his friend as he put together a small bag of things.

"Hey, are all of these the Professor's, Genis? They look big, long, and dull," he asked, glancing at the titles of the novels on the shelf.

"Those? Those're mine, Lloyd and they're really interesting. Raine gave them to me and I've almost finished the last one." He showed Lloyd a paperback tome titled Sylvarant: A Mystery All Its Own. "It's by that mercenary's ancestor or something like that since it was written over 3000 years ago. I can only make out the last name: Aurion."

"What the heck?!" Lloyd snatched the book from Genis to examine it himself, "You sure that jerk's name was Aurion."

"I'm as positive as I am that Raine's and mine is Sage and yours is Irving," Genis replied. "Why do you hate Kratos so much? I kind of understand that he insulted one of your few redeeming qualities, but why do you despise him? I mean, it's not like he's part of your family or anything, so why does his opinion of you matter to you so much?"

"What do you mean by?!—argh, let's go to my house already," Lloyd insisted, leaving out the door and out the gate of Iselia.

"Okay," They traveled up the path through the forest towards Dirk's house. Right when they passed the Human Ranch, Genis mentioned that he was stopping there.

"Why? Doesn't Iselia have a non-aggression treaty with the Desians or something? We're not supposed to go in there, Genis."

"It's for her and if you don't want to come with me, oh well. I'm going to see Marble." Genis began to enter the ranch when Lloyd caught up with him saying that he wasn't going to let Genis go by himself. "I knew you'd come with me, Lloyd."

_Why'd I allow myself to be talked into this again? _Lloyd wondered absent-mindedly. _I don't even know who this "Marble" is._

The boys quietly snuck nearer and nearer to the ranch and then off to the left side of it. "Genis. It's so good to see you."

"Hi, Marble," Genis greeted good-naturedly. "Here." He gave her the supplies and other things he had picked up from his house.

"Thank you very much, Genis."

"Hey, Lady, is that an exsphere?"

"Lloyd—" Genis started, trying to speak

"Why don't you have a Key Crest?" Lloyd questioned, examining Marble's exsphere. "An exsphere without a Key Crest isn't good for you."

"Lloyd—" Once again, Genis tried to get a word into the conversation.

"Well aren't you knowledgeable…Lloyd, is it?" Marble wondered.

"Yeah, I—"

"I'm sorry we have to leave so soon, Marble, but we need to get out of here. Desians are com—" Genis quickly ran behind a bush near the fence off to his left. "Come on, Lloyd, hurry!"

"Okay, Genis. Later, Marble." From their hiding place, the boys could hear a group of Desians ordering Marble to get back to work. When she answered, the Desians decided to punish her for her for her "attitude" at the back of the ranch. "We need to help her," Lloyd decided, hurrying over to a ledge he could climb up to see what would happen to Marble. He motioned to Genis for him to follow, then began climbing.

"Wait up, Lloyd; I'm not a fast as you are." When Genis reached the top, Lloyd was already crouched on the ledge, a grimace on his face. He followed Lloyd's gaze downward and saw three Desians hitting Marble with whips. "Marble…"

A silent pause came over them when Lloyd asked, "Can your fireballs reach down there?"

"Yeah, wh—no. I might hit her." Genis slowly took out his paddleball-like kendama, but then put it away twice as fast. "I'm not attacking them, Lloyd. Iselia's got a non-aggression treaty, remember?"

"So? The way I see it, they've already broken that treaty by attacking Colette at the temple." Lloyd reasoned.

Genis sighed in defeat. "Fine, what's your plan?" He took out his kendama once again.

"You attack them with fireballs. Once those hit, I'll jump across the wall heading down the hill so they can't see my face. While I'm distracting the Desians, you make your way down and go to my house. I'll meet up with you in the forest, so wait for me."

"Okay…ready." Genis glances at Lloyd, waiting for him to give the signal.

"Go!" Genis unleashed his attack on the three Desians, thankfully only hitting them. The Desians turned around, wondering what just hit them and then one spotted Lloyd going along the outside wall.

"There he goes! Get him!" A Desian shouted as all three of them ran toward the gates. "Open the gates!"

Lloyd was just about to go down the hill when Genis, hidden by bushes, tripped causing him to wince in pain. "Ow! Uh, oh…"

_Oh, no, Genis! _Lloyd thought, running to protect his best friend. Then, he attacked the Desian closest to where Genis lay a frozen statue with "Demon Fang".

They turned to face Lloyd. "You'll pay for that, human." The one that got hit threatened angrily.

"Try me," Lloyd retorted, drawing his swords. Luckily for Lloyd, and Genis, he was able to quickly defeat the Desians before reinforcements arrived. He raced to the edge of the forest where he met up with Genis, who was battling a ghost, then they both went to Dirk's house.

The next day, they returned to the village to hear from Colette's grandmother that Colette, Raine and a third person—she wouldn't say who—left on the Journey of Regeneration. Then, just when Lloyd and Genis were about to leave as well, a group of Desians arrived and started burning down the houses. "Where is the inferior being #0074 who has broken the non-aggression treaty here?" A blue-haired half-elf called out.

"Just who are you looking for?" The Mayor asked, trying to control his anger.

"He goes by the name of Lloyd Irving."

Hearing his name, Lloyd questioned, "What do you want with him?"

"Lord Forcystus, that's him."

"By order of the Non-aggression Treaty between the people of this village, Iselia, and those of us of the Iselia District, we have prepared a suitable opponent for you, Lloyd Irving." Forcystus stepped aside as a rag-clothed monster stumbled into Iselia. "Here is your opponent, human. Try to survive its wrath…if you can."

Running directly at it, Lloyd faced off with the monster. Before he could attack, it slashed at him causing him to raise his right hand up to block it, This caused the covering on his hand to get torn to reveal an exsphere on the back of it. "Is that…the Angelus Project? How did a little worm like you get that?" Forcystus demanded in confusion. "Now you shall surly die, you inferior being."

After recovering from the attack, Lloyd quickly beat it, but then something happened that he wasn't expecting. As the monster slowed down, dying, it spoke. _"Genis? Lloyd? Thank you…I always thought of you…as my grandson… Good…bye…Genis."_

"…Marble?" Genis whispered in disbelief as he charged up for an onslaught of fireballs. Instead of firing them at Lloyd, he sent all of them at the Desian leader, Forcystus, which caused him to stumble.

"Protect Lord Forcystus!" A Desian ordered as they all circled Forcystus. They all retreated as Marble gradually died, disappearing into thin air.

"No…Marble. Nooooooooooo!" Genis yelled out in anguish. He calmed down, eventually, and got really gloomy. Lloyd asked him if he wanted to come with him to find where Colette went to…as well as finds the Desians and get revenge on them for Marble's sake. The boys were about to leave when the Mayor turned and started yelling at Lloyd's "foolish behavior". After he was ranting on for about fifteen minutes or so, Genis stepped in saying how it was his fault that Lloyd even went to the ranch and insisted that if Lloyd was going to get banished, then so would he.

"Fine," The Mayor conceded. "If that's the way you want it…As Mayor of this village, I hereby banish Lloyd Irving and Genis Sage from Iselia…Now get out!"

* * *

I didn't ask this before, but review? 


	3. Triet

Chapter 3

After leaving Iselia, Kratos began to have second thoughts about how faithfully he was seeing through HIS plans for the Chosen: _Should I really be doing this to such a young girl? Even if she is the Chosen, no one as young as her should have to go through the same thing as…even she was older than this Chosen. I'm just relieved she decided to leave without telling anyone. It's a shame this teacher of hers is coming with us. What a nuisance…_

The travelers were on their way South as they crossed the treacherous desert toward the land Triet. They reached Triet only to see a pair of Desians putting up a picture of Lloyd. After the Desians left Triet, Colette immediately rushed over to the poster. "What does it say, Chosen?" Kratos asked emotionlessly, but softly, following her.

"It says 'Human #0074, Lloyd Irving'. Underneath his name is a reward of 10,000 Gald for his capture."

"Ten thousand Gald in exchange for Lloyd?" Raine speculated, curiously.

"So it would seem." Kratos walked over to their right and down the stairs to the door of the inn. "Come. You will need your energy for when we reach the Fire Seal."

"Oh, okay, Mr. Kratos," Colette complied.

Later that day—after reserving two rooms in the inn—Colette, Raine, and Kratos went out into the market place to stock up on "items that would prove useful on the rest of the journey" as Kratos put it. To the females surprise—mainly Colette's—they purchased twenty Apple and Orange Gels, Magic Lenses, Life and Pancea Bottles, and, even more amazingly—now to Raine as well—, armor and weaponry. Raine received a White Cloak and Rod in exchange for the Cloak and Staff she owned. For Colette, despite her pleas not to get her anything, the others bought Leather Guard and Duel Rings to replace her Guard and Chakrams. Finally, for the guy of their group, Kratos replaced his Lid Shield for a Wooden Shield and the Long Sword in exchange for a more advanced Stiletto. In total, everything cost 14,860 Gald which Kratos paid for—ignoring Colette and Raine insisting to at least let them pay for their weapons and armor. "No. It is my job to see that the Chosen is well protected," he explained once they were back outside the inn. "I can not allow—"

Kratos paused when he noticed Raine was holding out a small bag of Gald. "Here is your payment for defending Colette and I as we came here."

He glanced at her suspiciously right before taking the Gald and going to his room at the inn. Inside, Kratos opened the bag and counted it. 7,860 Gald; the precise amount that would have purchased ten Apple Gels, ten Orange Gels, ten Pancea Bottles, ten Life Bottles, ten Magic Lenses, and both Raine's and Colette's armor and weapon. _That cunning professor…_Kratos thought, surprised he had been so easily tricked into paying for half the supplies as well his own upgrades. _I have to find some way of—_

**Whine.**

_Was that…Noishe? _Kratos went out the door, up the stairs, and came to halt near the top step.

"Are you serious, Lloyd?! You're wanted for ransom. Why do you want to stay in a place like this that has the Desians keeping tabs on them?"

"We _need _better armor, better weapons, Gels, Magic Lenses, and all those other things if we're gonna go through the desert again."

"But, Lloyd, all of that costs a lot of Gald and we don't have much to begin with."

"I know tha—"

"We're just students. I don't have enough to buy all that and neither do you, even with the Gald and other things Dirk gave you. Not even if we combined them, we'd be broke as still need more supplies."

Noishe nudged Lloyd with his nose towards the inn steps, as well as Kratos. "What, Noishe? Do you see something?" Kratos quickly descended the stairs as quietly as he could without Lloyd noticing him. Since they were preoccupied with Noishe, neither the auburn nor the brunette noticed a small bag drop onto the steps. Kratos escaped into the inn before either of the others saw him.

The next day, Kratos discovered that the Gald Raine had deceived him into taking had disappeared. Although instead of being bothered with it, he and the others left Triet on their way to the Fire Seal. They were on their way South when all three of them heard the howl of a large animal. "What was that?" Raine wondered aloud.

_Noishe…_

"It sounded like Noishe!" Colette answered excitedly. "Maybe Lloyd and Genis came down here to Triet for some reason."

"Noishe?" Kratos feigned ignorance.

"He's Lloyd's dog."

"Why would the two of them come here?" Raine questioned.

"Perhaps they're searching for the two of you," Kratos suggested the idea just surfacing his mind right then. Just then, a huge green and white animal came running toward them with a small blue and white dot almost flying off of it.

"……aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"Genis?!" Raine shouted, confused that her little brother was out in the Triet Desert with Lloyd's dog. She turned around, but only saw Colette standing behind her. "Where did he—?"

"Yahooooo!" Genis shouted excitedly as he rode in front of Kratos on top of Noishe. "Look at me, Raine! I'm actually riding Noishe!" He waved frantically at the pair of females, although his sister more so than Colette.

As they came closer, Raine became more and more like a stone statue. She was so amazed—one, Genis was riding Noishe and two, Kratos was able to control Noishe like that—that Colette had to snap her out of it. Regaining her composure, Raine commanded Genis to get off of Noishe right when they came to a halt right beside her.

Doing what she said, Genis tried to get down but ended up falling off and onto the ground instead. "Genis! Are you okay?" Colette worried, crouching to make sure he wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine, Colette. I think it was my—never mind," Genis started to assure her as Kratos swiftly dismounted, cutting his sentence short.

"I'm sorry, Genis. I—" Colette started.

"Let us go. You can explain why you're here as we go to the Fire Seal." They all continued to the seal as Genis explained how and why he was in the desert with Noishe. When he came to the ending, Lloyd had been taken by Desians to a ranch near Triet, Colette and Genis started worrying if Lloyd was going to end up like Marble. Colette more so than Genis.

Raine continued to question Genis about where the ranch was while Kratos stayed silent, thinking. _So…first Kvar and now you, Yuan…How far will either side go to retrieve the Angelus Project?_

"We need to help Lloyd," Genis suggested.

"I agree…but do you know where he is?" Colette wondered.

"Uh…sort of…"

Kratos stepped forward pass the others and mounted Noishe like he was a horse. "Follow me." He told them. "Let's go pay a visit to Yuan, Noishe." He whispered loud enough for only Noishe to hear him.

"Where are we going?" Raine asked as she put a hand on Noishe's foreleg.

"Shake her off and let's go," Kratos muttered. Noishe took off in a flash, his green and white fur blurring together. From Noishe's back, Kratos' face looked like he was forcing it to stay emotionless instead of letting loose and smiling for once.

"Kratos!" Raine shouted, enraged that he would do something like that. "Get back here, Kratos! Don't run away! Come back and protect Colette!" From where they stood, Kratos and Noishe looked like a miniscule dot in the distance that froze in mid-sprint. They gradually turned around and then disappeared.

"What was that?" His voice inquired from behind them. "I didn't run away, Miss Sage. You probably startled Noishe."

"Oh, so you're blaming _me _for _your_ foolish games?" Raine inquired heatedly.

"I told you all to follow me did I not? But did you listen? No. Is it my fault you're slow?" Kratos gently nudged Noishe with his heel, so he started walking off away from Triet. Genis Colette started to follow him. After a minute or two, Raine gave up and tried to catch up with the others.


	4. In the Base

Chapter 4

After being knocked out by the Desians, Lloyd woke up in a jail cell to find they had taken all his equipment away. _Darn it! _Lloyd raged, punching the wall with his fist with the exsphere as well as another item. _What the? What's this? Ah! They forgot the Sorcerer's Ring, yeah! I'm as good as free. Now…to get that guard with thing… _"Got it," he congratulated himself as he escaped out of the room. _What's that? _He wondered, noticing a wooden chest off to his left. Inside it was all the equipment they had taken from him. Lloyd, trying to find his way out, entered small, rectangular room that had a desk and suit of armor off to the left.

"Who're you?" A man questioned; his long, sapphire hair in a ponytail and a cape on his shoulders.

"Give your name and I shall give you mine," Lloyd countered, preparing to defend himself from the other guy.

"Ha, ha ha! You certainly have guts," He stated. "But I'm afraid I don't see the need to introduce myself to a miserable little creature like you," he continued, sneering a Lloyd cockily.

"What a coincidence," Lloyd countered, lifting his hands palms-up at his sides then letting them drop once again. "'Cause I don't see the need to introduce myself either to a moron who doesn't realize how pathetic he is."

The man's glance at Lloyd's hands caused him to look at his opponent's face a second time, this time more closely. "Is that…an exsphere? So you're Lloyd."

"And if I am?"

"Hmm, I see the resemblance." The man turned his head to look up at the ceiling.

"Huh?" Lloyd asked as an alarm went off, red lights flashing on and off. Suddenly, the door behind Lloyd opened—he moved out of the way—as the same man from the Martel Temple entered followed by Desians.

"What the—?" You're Botta!"

Ignoring Lloyd, Botta announced, "Sir! We've received reports that the Chosen's group has infiltrated the facility!"

"Botta! I'm leaving for now. Our plans will be ruined if he sees me," the blue-haired man ordered, moving toward a door across from Lloyd. "I'll leave the Chosen to you."

"Understood."

"Wha—? Wait! Who are—?"

"I am Yuan." The door opened behind him. "Remember that, Lloyd, for the next time we meet, you're mine." He left out the door leaving Lloyd, Botta, and the other Desians in the room.

"You're Lloyd Irving? Now this is amusing."

"Hey! I—"

"Lloyd! Are you okay?" Genis asked.

"Are you hurt?" Colette worriedly questioned.

The door behind him opened and out came Colette, Raine, Genis, and finally Kratos. "He looks fine," Kratos commented impassively.

"You guys came for me?" Lloyd wondered, amazed they would do such a thing.

"Siding with the Chosen, Kratos?" Botta questioned. "No matter, we shall defeat you soon enough."

Kratos scanned their opponents, unamused that the only one he wanted to face wasn't there. "Come. You've found Lloyd. We nee not waste time with such _low-classed _traitorous…Desians, as these."

Botta gave his men orders, having all but the two strongest leave things to them. "We shall see who is a 'traitor', coward."

_That's it, he's finished! _Lloyd unsheathed both of his swords and charged at Botta. _No one insults Kratos except me!_

"Stalagmite!" Botta unleashed an Earth Element attack against Lloyd.

Lloyd tried to defend against it by holding his swords in front of him. Since he saw Lloyd's pathetic attempt to defend himself, Kratos stepped closely in front of him and preformed a defensive "Guardian" technique. _Why didn't it—oh, Kratos. _"I'm not going to—"

"Thank me? You don't need to," Kratos interrupted. "Just don't die, Lloyd."

"Arg, I'm gonna—Yeagh! What the?! What was that?" He asked as one of the Desians attacked him from behind.

"Be careful, Lloyd," Kratos told him, attacking the same Desian with a "Lightning Blade" attack.

_Arg! Why does he treat me like such a kid?! _Lloyd wondered as he fought the second Desian, venting his anger and frustration out at him instead of at Kratos. _I'd get beaten so badly if I fought him…hate to admit it but it's true._

Once both Desians went down, it was Lloyd, Genis, Raine, Colette, and Kratos against Botta…and all but Raine, Kratos, and Botta weren't doing too well. "Don't over do it, Lloyd." Kratos cast a healing spell on him. "First Aid!"

Eventually, they defeated Botta. Lloyd was just about to finish him off when Genis stopped him, "Don't do it, Lloyd."

"He's right. Don't you want to know why they captured you?"

Lloyd turned to face Botta, "Tell me why you Desians wanted to bring me here."

"Your exsphere is…unique."

"Don't avoid the question, Botta," Kratos warned, giving him a look that said; explain why, just don't give too much information. Before he told why, Botta nodded slightly. His explanation was short, simple, to the point, and didn't give too many details about what it was they were doing.

That night, they spent the rest of the day traveling through Triet Desert, all present except Raine and Kratos voted Genis to cook their dinner. Raine wanted to try to make curry, but they all shouted "No!" However, when and after they actually voted, Kratos was missing from the campsite off somewhere. This made Raine even angrier.

"He's supposed to be guarding Colette and what's he do instead? He goes off somewhere and disappears on us," Raine complained, acting like it wasn't the first time he did something like that. "Again." Mostly, because it wasn't the first time.

"Maybe there's a reason he doesn't want to join us," Genis suggested, glancing over at his sister. "The food, I mean," he continued when he noticed Raine glaring at him, gaining him an even eviler glare.

"Genis didn't necessarily mean your cooking, Professor Sage."

"Uh…Lloyd?"

"What is it, Colette?"

"Where's Noishe?" Colette wondered from where she sat near their campfire, making sure the food didn't burn. "I haven't seen him since we voted on what to eat and who would cook it."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen _Kratos_ anywhere around here since then either," Raine commented sourly, still not giving up the fact that he didn't look like he was even trying to defend Colette anymore.

"Maybe he and Noishe went off somewhere?"

Just then, Lloyd spotted a white tail tipped with green whip around a rock and then disappear behind it. _Noishe?_ He thought as he got up and walked over to the large rock. Behind it, he saw Noishe lying against the boulder as Kratos leaned back against Noishe's side. Lloyd tried to creep around back to the campsite without Kratos noticing him. _I'm just going to get out of here before he starts to—shoot._

"I just can't promise that, Noishe," Kratos muttered, his voice just above a whisper. "But if that does ever happen, take care of him for me, okay?"

_**Growl.**_

"Why not?"

_**Whine.**_

Kratos sighed in defeat. "Fine, but you can't always hide from them…Just like I won't be able to hide that from—Noishe? What are you—?" He looked up at Noishe just as Lloyd stepped behind the boulder.

_What is it Kratos meant? Who's he hiding something from? _Lloyd wondered nervously._ And—?_

"You arrived at the perfect moment, Lloyd. Noishe and I were just about going to come back," Kratos said, making up his excuse just as he said it.

"Oh, so you heard me looking for Noishe, Kratos?" Lloyd wondered, wandering away from the rock to pet Noishe's head. "I'm glad you found him."

Kratos stood up and went back to the campsite, leaving Lloyd alone with his dog. _I wonder what Kratos meant…Hey! Maybe I can ask Noishe! Wait a second, if Kratos just met Noishe a little while ago, then why's he so comfortable around Kratos? _"Hey, so what was Kratos talking to you about?"

_**Growl.**_

"What? Why can't I know?"

_**Growl.**_

"Fine! I won't ask, okay?" Noishe curled around Lloyd as a sign of happiness, his tail waving slowly back and forth across the ground. For a while, neither one made a sound. They both just enjoyed the other's company until Kratos came back and told Lloyd to go to sleep. "Why?" he questioned defiantly. "You're not."

Kratos sighed, "I say this because I have volunteered to keep watch over the Chosen as well as yourselves. Now go back to camp and sleep.

"Why can't I sleep here?"

"Because it is far too dangerous out here," Kratos explained, almost seeming like he was getting really annoyed with Lloyd.

"Fine," Lloyd consented, getting up. "Come on, Noishe, let's go."

_**Bark! Bark!**_

"Wha—? Why don't you want to come back to camp with me, Noishe?" Lloyd turned to face him. _I can't believe Noishe'd choose Kratos instead of me. What's gotten into—?_

"Go, I will keep watch," Kratos sat down, leaning against the boulder, one of his feet flat on the ground with the other beneath his bent knee. "_Alone_." He emphasized the final word.

_**Whine.**_

"Go. You can not always depend on that and run away from your fears. Now go back," Kratos instructed.

Lloyd uneasily glanced over at Kratos, and then up at Noishe. "Come on, Noishe. He wants to be alone for a while." Looking back at Kratos, he asked, "How far are we from the Fire Seal?"

"We should be there by mid-morning tomorrow."


	5. Fire, fire everywhere

Chapter 5

The next morning, Kratos' prediction had come true once again; they were currently standing outside an opening at the old Triet Ruins. Colette asked as she examined a pedestal near the opening, "Say, is this the seal? It has my family's crest on it…"

"Fantastic!" Raine said enthusiastically, her eyes staring intensively at the runes on the panel. "Look at this slab covering the entrance! It's clearly of a different composition than the surrounding stone!" She mused, continuing to look at the slab. "Ha-ha-ha-ha! It's just as I thought!" Raine crouches down near the entrance and runs a hand over the surface. "This is polycarbonate, developed during the Ancient War to defend against magic! Oh, feel the smooth surface! It's wondrous!"

The others just stared silently watching her with apprehension. "Is she always like this?" Kratos questioned his voice just a small bit curious.

Raine continued studying the ruin as another silence fell over them. "…Is she?" Lloyd wondered looking over at Genis.

Genis turned back around to face the others and sighed as he raised his open palms into the air. "I've been trying so hard to hide, too." Raine walked past the others toward a stone that was raised up on a pillar.

"Hmm? This depression…it reads 'oracle stone'. Colette, place your hand here. That should reveal the entrance."

"Really?" Lloyd questioned.

"This stone is enchanted with magic designed to identify the Chosen," Raine replied. "There's no question about it."

Colette walked over next to Raine and placed her right hand on the pedestal, causing the secret door to open. "It opened! Wow! I guess I'm really the Chosen after all!" She mused excitedly while still managing to sound surprised.

"Yes, I think we all know that already," Genis commented dully while reading the same novel he had showed to Lloyd back in Iselia.

"Let's go every—yes, Kratos?" Raine began before asking for the mercenary's opinion.

"Before we enter the Fire Seal, I must know, do all of you know at least a basic level defensive technique?"

What do you mean?" Lloyd wondered.

Kratos sighed. "For example, the Guardian I used to protect you against the 'Stalagmite' Botta attacked with."

Behind Lloyd, Genis started softly laughing. "You mean like Force Field, Damage Guard, or Bastion?" he piped up, attempting to hold back his laughter.

_So this boy Genis is the smart one, the Chosen's the clumsy one, and Lloyd's…the idiotic idealist. Just as Ma was the clumsy healer, Yu was the intelligent axmen, and Mi was the idealist apprentice swordsman...leaving myself plainly a stronger and much wiser swordsman,_ Kratos deduced silently, still keeping a straight face.

So, after he taught Lloyd "Guardian", they all went inside while having to listen to Lloyd's "Okay! Now it's getting exciting! Let's hurry up and go inside!" to which Kratos replied, "…I hope you'll be able to maintain that enthusiasm." They all traversed underground and reached the center of the ruins, solving puzzles and defeating enemies and obtaining items all the while.

Raine, being in front, reached the warp point first once they came to the absolute center of the ruins. Just as Kratos caught up to the others, he had been keeping to the back as not to allow for an ambush from behind, Raine suggested for everyone to regroup and heal themselves. Seeing Lloyd and Genis healing themselves with gels they had, Raine wondered how they were able to buy them.

"Oh, uh…well, when Lloyd and I got to Triet, there was this bag of Gald on the steps going down to the inn door," Genis answered uneasily, holding up a small bag. "So…we figured it was—"

"You figured it was okay to take the Gald?" Raine wondered furiously. "Have I taught the two of you nothing?! I'm surprised with yo—"

"How much Gald was in the bag?" Kratos inquired, ceasing Raine's interrogation.

"Why does that matter?" Lloyd questioned.

"Answer the question," Raine commanded, now interested in where the conversation was heading.

As Colette watched everyone talk, Lloyd answered, "We didn't count it." Then anticipating their next question, added, "We haven't taken the rest out of the bag either. Why do you want to know how much was—?"

"Give it to me," Kratos ordered, stretching out his hand to take the bad of Gald. Once Genis gave it to him, Kratos counted it. "There's 1,050 Gald here. What is it that you bought?"

"Ten Magic Lenses, Life Bottles, Apple Gels, Orange Gels, armor for me and Genis, a Fine Star, and…five Pancea Bottles," Lloyd replied, trying to remember everything.

"You were able to buy all that? How?" Raine inquired, taking the bag of Gald from Kratos.

"We had enough Gald to get all of it, so we did," Genis answered simply.

Raine thought everything out for a moment before beginning to say, "So you two found about…"

"7,860 Gald." Kratos stepped. Onto the warp circle after finishing the professor's sentence fro her. "Now if all of you are prepared, let us go to the altar."

"Okay." Colette and Raine followed him up. Just as they disappeared, Lloyd and Genis quickly followed. Right when he got up there. Genis commented that he felt a lot of mana coming from the altar. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a large, lava-colored dog appeared accompanied by two similar, yet smaller, creatures.

Raine used Magic Lenses to scan the creatures' abilities, weaknesses, and strengths. "They're a Ktugach and a pair of Ktugachlings."

"And that helps us how?" Lloyd wondered a loud as he and Colette fought off the two Ktugachlings. "Sword Rain!"

"Sonic Thrust!" Kratos shouted, attacking the Ktugach.

After a whole lot of fighting, they defeated the three creatures and then Remiel's voice greeted, "Welcome, Chosen of Regeneration. Offer your prayers at the altar."

"Yes, my lord." Colette approached the altar and began praying, "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength!" The seal breaks and a light from above appears and reveals Remiel.

"Colette, my dear daughter, you have done well."

"Thank you…Fa…ther."

* * *

I had some trouble with this one, so the next ch.'s just gonna be a continuation.


	6. On the Road Again

Chapter 5 Con.

"The guardian of the seal has fallen, and the first seal has been released. Efreet will surely awaken soon. In the name of Cruxis, I shall grant you the power of the angels."

"Thank you, my lord." Remiel gives Colette the power of the angels. Colette's back then reveals angel wings and she ascend in midair.

"The angel transformation will not be without pain. Yet, it is but for one night. Be strong and endure," Remiel explained.

"I humbly accept this trial."

"The next seal lies far to the east, across the sea. Offer your prayers at that altar."

"Yes, Lord Remiel," Colette replied just before Remiel vanished from the scene.

"I shall await you at the next seal, the Chosen of

Regeneration, my beloved daughter, Colette," Remiel's voice announced to the group. Colette descends to the floor and stands on a surface.

"Colette…has wings!" Lloyd spoke in amazement.

"Uh-huh, and look, I can put them away, too." Colette told them, putting her angel wings away right afterwards.

"Oh, wow! That's so cool!" Genis said happily jumping up and down.

"Here, look, look!" Colette continuously flapped her angel wings as Genis enjoyed it.

Ignoring Colette and Genis, Raine started trying to figure out how they were going to reach the next seal. "I should have known this journey would take us across the ocean."

"What's wrong, Professor Sage?"

"Oh, no-nothing's wrong," she responded uneasily. "Now where is he?" Raine demanded, seeing as Kratos was nowhere near them.

"Hurry up. We must go to Izoold."

"Izoold? Where is—?"

"It's a fishing village on the other side of the Ossa Trail. We need to go there because it's the only place with boats on this part of Sylvarant." Raine explained as she turned toward Colette and her little brother. "Come you two, let's get going."

The two turned to face their companions as they stopped what they were doing. "Okay," they answered in unison, sad that they had to stop playing with Colette's new wings.

The five of them left the ruins, Kratos at the back, Raine in front. Not even back to Triet, Colette fell to her knees. "Professor Sage!" Lloyd worriedly ran over to help her.

"Colette! Are you okay?"

"I'm…fine…"

"You don't look fine at all! Your face is completely white!" Genis stated, disagreeing with her. "It's all my fault. I got carried away and kept making her pull her wings in and out."

Lloyd shook his head, "I don't think that has anything to do with it…"

"Now's not the time for that!" Raine insisted. "Her lips are turning purple. We must get her to a doctor in the city immediately."

"Wait," Kratos began, "I suggest you not move her."

"Why not?" Lloyd questioned as both he and Genis looked back at Kratos.

"Yeah, don't you care if the person you're supposed to be protecting dies?" Genis joined in on Lloyd's side.

"That's not it," Kratos retorted calmly. "Remember the angel's words. The angel transformation process requires her to overcome a trial. Rather than taking her to a doctor, it would be best to let her rest here."

"I'm…okay," Colette inputted. "I'll be fine after a little rest. I'm sorry to cause so much trouble…"

"Stop apologizing all the time, you dork!" Lloyd told her. "It's not as if you can help it. You were suddenly turned into an angel."

Colette sighed, "You're right…I'm sorry."

Raine walked over to Kratos, talked for a little while, started arguing with him, and then she came so close to shouting her opinion, but instead tried to slap him across his face. Kratos stopped her hand from touching him with just a simple wave of his hand. She sighed, turned back and walked away, trying as hard as possible not to have Genis cast "Aqua Edge" at Kratos. "Where should we stay for the night, Kratos?" she questioned venomously. "Since it's obvious you know more about this than the Chosen."

"I wouldn't say that was true, Miss Sage," Kratos countered. "Come, the Chosen needs to rest."

That night, they all rested around the campfire. Once again, Genis and Colette fell asleep first and Noishe stayed near both Lloyd and Kratos. "So we're going to go across the sea, huh? Cool!"

"I'm surprised you've been able to hold your own up until now," Kratos stated, causing Lloyd to glance over at him as he said "surprised".

"I would've died long ago if it wasn't for you healing me," he countered, complementing the mercenary's skills.

"Heh, you've forgotten your teacher heals as well."

"Yeah, but she focuses more on Colette and Genis than she does on me," Lloyd pointed out a bit sourly.

Kratos got up, walked over—passing Lloyd—over to Noishe, and commented, "That may be that she has more faith in your abilities and believes you can defend yourself better than your friends."

"Yeah, well…" Lloyd started awkwardly, a hand behind his head, then wondered as it lowered. "Then why do you bother helping me?"

"Doesn't someone need to?" Kratos left, leaving Lloyd with Noishe as long as his last question hanging over the young double-swordsman's head.

_Why does he always confuse me like that?_ Lloyd wondered. "Hey, Noishe, can you tell me something of which he talks to you about?"

_**Growl…**_

"Okay, okay, I'll stop asking!" Lloyd said defensively, waving his hands between Noishe and himself. "Just…does he talk about me at all?" Noishe bent down and licked his master's face a couple time. This caused Lloyd to tilt back, away from his dog. "Noishe…no! Stop it, Noishe!"

Suddenly, Noishe froze where he stood. "What's wrong, Noishe?" Lloyd asked, straightening back up to a sitting position. "What's bothering you?" Ever since he froze, Noishe had begun shaking furiously and whining loudly. "Noishe? What's wrong with you?" _What does "they're coming" mean? I don't—? Ah! Maybe he'll know._

Lloyd jumped to his feet and silently ran over to the campsite toward Kratos. "Kratos!" he said urgently as he ran.

Kratos glanced up at Lloyd, turning only his head, looking as if he were ready ro continue on. "What is it?"

"Noishe. He's just standing there in one place, shaking for some reason."

"Why come to me? I thought you hated me."

"Wha—? I need help with taking care of Noishe," he pleaded. "He keeps repeating the same thing over and over again."

Kratos stood up from his position as look out. "What is it he's saying?"

"He keeps repeating…'they're coming'. Whatever _that _means."

"I will go see him," Kratos stated calmly. "You stay here and keep watch while I'm not here."

"But I want—"

"You want someone to ambush us? Stay here." After giving his orders once more, Kratos started off in the direction Lloyd had come. "I trust you won't mess this up."

"Kratos, wait! I—" Lloyd started before getting cut off By Kratos.

"No. I nee to aid Noishe as quickly as possible…Isn't that why you came to get me?"

He left Lloyd to his thoughts. The boy sat down just as Kratos had—one leg folded beneath the other—silent for a while. _I want to know why Noishe trusts you so much. Why he'll tell you stuff I say, but not tell me what you say._


	7. To Palmacosta!

Chapter 6

Kratos reached Noishe as quickly as he could. When he saw him, Kratos ran over to help, asking what had spooked Noishe. _So that's it. Lloyd unknowingly mimicked me which caused Noishe's memories of that moment to surface and scare him like it was happening again._ "I won't let anything like that happen ever again, Noishe. I promise you that." Kratos repeatedly stroked Noishe's back, calming him down. "Though that will only be if I am with you. When you and the others reach that land, I will not be able to protect you." He explained softly but at the same time as firm as a wooden board. "When that time comes, you must be able to trust him more than you depend on my help. Remember that, alright?"

_**Whine**_

"Noishe," Kratos warned sternly. "You _must _be able to trust him. I know you've only known the boy for sixteen years, but heed my words, he'll be depending on you one of these days and you'll have to be there for him."

"Who are you talking about, Mr. Kratos?"

Kratos turned—taken by surprise for just a moment—to face the Chosen. "Ah, Chosen, don't worry yourself with things that do not concern you or anyone you know."

"I'm sorry, but can I take a guess?" She inquired politely, and then continued after a nod from him. "It's Lloyd, isn't it?"

_And I thought it was only the Sages who were smart,_ Kratos thought as he hesitated instead of answering Colette's question.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be asking about things like that. Uh…I came over here to know when we would be leaving and Professor Raine wanted to know where you disappeared to last night."

"There was a small problem that I had to deal with. It's been taken care of." He explained, his hand still stroking Noishe's back, glancing over at the large, green and white animal.

"Um…Mr. Kratos?"

"Kratos. Just Kratos."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Colette apologized before posing her question. "Do you like animals?"

_Lloyd probably put her up to this._ "…Not particularly."

"Then why does Noishe like you so much?"

"I once had a pet. A long time ago." The mercenary explained, ceasing petting Noishe, while looking over at Colette. "Can I trust you won't tell anyone this secret?"

"What do you mean 'this secret', M—uh, Kratos?"

"I know that regenerating the world is not only a dangerous task, but becoming an angel has its consequences as well."

"We-well…yes, I know, but…so who were you talking about? I promise I won't tell any of the others."

Kratos stared at her skeptically. "You would keep secrets from your friends?"

Colette's face fell, ashamed of the way he put what she was doing. "You don't have to tell me if you don't think it would be wise." She turned and walked back toward the others.

_Good choice. She shouldn't bother with that anyway. _Kratos returned to the campsite with Noishe at his heels. He and the dog walked over to Lloyd who, even though he was asleep, was still in the exact place Kratos had told him to stay the night before. "Lloyd."

_**Bark! Bark!**_

With a sigh from the elder swordsman, both he and Noishe sat down beside the boy. Noishe, being in the middle, lay on his side waiting for his young master to awaken. "Lloyd, wake up or we shall leave you here. The professor's orders," Kratos informed him solemnly. "…Good luck trying to find your way back to Iselia by yourself." He stood up, motioned for Noishe to follow him, and started to leave when someone shouted;

"Stop!" Lloyd ordered, quickly standing up. "Get back here, Kratos!"

He looked back at Lloyd. "Are you trying to tell me what to do, Lloyd?"

The double-swordsman took a step back, surprised that the older man had actually stopped. "How did you know I lived near Iselia?"

"Genis." Kratos replied simply. "Now we need to be going. This conversation has already taken enough time, and we haven't reached the Ossa Trail yet."

"Oh…okay."

Once they all regrouped, Kratos had gotten reprimanded by Raine for his "irresponsible" actions, the Chosen and her friends set out for the Ossa Trail. Just a few moments after they arrived there, they heard a female's voice shout, "Stop!" A young woman, who wore a short, light purple kimono with a pink sash, appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" Lloyd questioned, surprised.

"Is she a friend of yours, Lloyd?" Colette wondered.

"Not that I'm aware of…" he replied awkwardly.

"…Is the Chosen of Mana among you?" The woman demanded, standing there looking like she was prepared to fight.

"Oh—" Colette started to reply.

"What is it you want with me?" Kratos inquired, stepping in front of the Chosen—blocking the stranger's path at the same time protecting the younger girl. The others were surprised at what he did—since it seemed to them he couldn't care less about Colette—but instead of messing things up by commenting about it, all three kept quiet.

The assassin took out her weapons—cards—before venomously telling Kratos, "Prepare to die." She charged at the pair, but just before reaching them, Colette—getting nervous that Kratos had lied in order protect her—slipped on nothing and fell, hitting a lever sticking out of the ground. Noticing this, Kratos quickly took a step back.

_That was close._ He thought as the door opened and the female assassin fell down into the hole created by the open door. _I almost ended up like he had before._ A crash sounded, echoing up from the bottom of the shaft.

"Oh, no! What should I do? I did it again…" Collette, after while getting up, said worriedly.

"You don't need to worry about it." Raine assured her. "If she had not fallen in, you might have been killed."

"But…"

"Don't worry about it," Lloyd spoke up, seeming not to care if he made Colette even more worried. "It looks like she's an enemy."

"I hope she's okay," Colette persisted.

"Even assuming her weight to be 45 kilograms, and this hole to be 10 meters deep, and calculating the gravity constant at 9.8, the impact shouldn't have been fatal."

"Gravity…constant? I don't exactly get it, but she's alive, right, Genis?"

"Probably."

While walking over to look at the hole, Lloyd comments, "Still, man, she's got some bad luck. Standing right on top of a trapdoor and all."

The Professor moves over toward the children before explaining, "It was just a coincidence that she fell into one, of the possibly many, hidden maintenance doors for this mountain." She then turned to stare suspiciously at Kratos. "I would like to know how it is you knew that would happen."

"What do you mean, Professor Sage?" the young double-swordsman wondered, oblivious to the tension surrounding the pair of adults.

"Did you not see him move toward Colette just before the door opened?" Raine inquired almost venomously.

"…We should get moving," the mercenary stated, starting up the trial.

"Answer me, Kratos. How did you know that would happen?"

"Hey!" Lloyd started sounding a bit agitated. "Shouldn't we try to find out who that woman was?"

"No, she'll come after us again on her own," he responded evenly. "This area is too confined and the footing is poor. It would be wise not to linger."

They continued onward in silence up until the point when Raine insisted she felt a strange presence ahead and wanted to go alone. Colette pleaded that she wanted to accompany her so much that, after receiving a short nod from Kratos, Raine allowed only Colette to join her. The pair went on, leaving the males behind them.

Shortly after, the three heard the sound of something smashing down into the ground. This caused the two younger boys to begin to worry and ask Kratos if they could go see what happened. Not bothering to wait for his response, Lloyd rushed down the path away, leaving Genis and Kratos. "Let's go! Come on, Kratos!" Genis stated, jumping up and down in place for a few seconds before saying he couldn't take it anymore and hurrying to following Lloyd.

_Seems I have no choice but to agree. _

Once he arrived there—they were arguing with the assassin—the woman stepped back into a fighting stance and growled at Kratos, "I shall never allow you to regenerate this world, Chosen One." She pulled out a strange-looking card which then transformed into a large bird with a wheel on its back when muttered, "Come, Wind Guardian," floating beside her. "I won't be caught off guard this time! Prepare to die!" She and the creature attacked Kratos head on at the same time, but just as the girl was about to strike, a green disk flew by and blocked her attack. This allowed Kratos to defend against the bird's strike.

_I must remember to thank the Chosen later. _Kratos noted as he cast a "Stone Blast"—a basic Earth spell—at the assassin right before she attacked Colette as she called out, "Pyre Seal!" stopping her attack. Then, he heard the sound of wood against metal as Lloyd entered the battle along side him. _What is he doing? These neither he nor the Chosen has a chance against either of our opponents. _Kratos finished off the flying creature with Lloyd, both of them using "Sonic Thrust" at the same time for the combination of "Cross Thrust".

"Alright!" Lloyd shouted as he charged at the black-haired girl. "Tempest!"

Noticing the boy was about to collapse from the use of so much energy, the red-headed mercenary cast "First Aid" to heal him "Don't over do it," Kratos warned sternly.

"Okay, okay, I won't. Sheesh."

As he Lloyd, and Colette batted the assassin, Kratos—out of the corner of his eye—saw a glowing red spell circle around Genis as he got ready to attack with a "Fire Ball" attack. "Yeah! Eruption!" A circle of fire appeared on the ground around the assassin, only hurting her and not the other three.

_Then again, maybe not, _Kratos mused as the girl fell to her knees in defeat.

"I swear, I will kill you," she vowed angrily, standing to face Kratos.

"Why are you calling Kratos 'Chosen One' and all that other stuff?" Lloyd wondered, he had forgotten that Kratos had said he was the Chosen, due to his terrible memory. "Colette's the Chosen, not Kratos."

"What?! You tricked me?" The assassin demanded, outraged. "You'll regret saying you were the Chosen instead of her, Kratos. I'll make sure of it." She disappeared in a cloud of smoke as her words faded away themselves.

Once they had all healed, the Chosen and her companions continued on to Izoold. Right when they got there, Raine and Kratos disagreed…again. "What would be more important, lives or…or your job?!" she questioned heatedly, motioning first to the whole group and then to his sword. "Are all mercenaries like this? If so, we can make it to Palmacosta by ourselves!"

"Really?" Kratos questioned doubtful.

"Yes!" Raine stormed off in the direction of the inn, muttering about egotistical jerks and Gald.

"I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Genis left after her, Colette following saying she would go help too.

_Where did Noishe run off to?_ Kratos took the opportunity to go off on his own to get supplies—seeing as he had the group's Gald—for the five of them, not caring that Lloyd had been left by himself. He came to a shop near the water's edge where he bought ingredients for Genis to use—Raine could _not_ be trusted with food—during the journey as well as other things they would need. Kratos walked down the small hill toward the dock, trying to locate a ship they would be able to use.

"So, how did you get here to begin with?" One of the locals asked.

"Caught a ride with this pirate. He called himself… Aifread, or something."

At that point, he saw Lloyd walk up to the pair of villagers. "Did you say somebody's got a boat around here?"

"Why? You want to go across the sea?"

"Even if that was the reason, you can't," the first villager commented.

"Why not?" Lloyd questioned beginning to get angry.

"He's gone back to his hometown, that's 'why not', kid."

This comment got the double-swordsman even angrier. "I am not a—!"

"Hey, doesn't this boy look like that wanted poster over there?" Both Kratos and Lloyd looked over toward the poster the man was pointing to.

_It's another one of those posters like the one in Triet. _Kratos quickly stepped over to Lloyd, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him over back toward the inn.

"Where are you taking me, Kratos?" Lloyd asked, almost running to keep up with Kratos' footsteps. "Why are we going back near—?"

He stopped, turned on his heel while releasing the boy' wrist. "Listen. It is necessary that the Chosen regenerates the world, correct? Then we _must_ find a way to reach the next seal and I couldn't care less if we all had to swim across the sea as long as we get to Palmacosta."

Frightened, Lloyd gave the older man a look as to say; have-you-gone-insane-Kratos? "How would that work if the professor can't swim? Or Colette?" He objected, trying to use logic to convince Kratos not to go to such extreme lengths. "Besides, why do you care if Colette regenerates the world? Don't you get paid anyways?"

"Because if she doesn't, Sylvarant will continue to decline. Do you want all the people we have seen continue to suffer?"

Lloyd's head dropped, "…No…but—where are the others anyway? Have you seen—?"

"Lloyd!" Genis called as he ran over toward the pair of swordsmen. "We think we've found a boat, Lloyd." The young mage seemed really excited about going out to sea.

"Really?" The younger of the two asked, almost as excited as his best friend. "Where is it?"

Kratos gave the boy a look of disappointment at his reaction to Genis' news. "The more important question _should _be if the ship can stay a float, if it's large enough to carry everyone," His expression changed to that of one who would have been commenting on another's stupidity. "Or would you like to resort to my other suggestion?"

Genis looked up at the elder mercenary in confusion. "What're you talking about, Kratos? What suggestion?"

Lloyd, who had previously been giving Kratos the same look as before, turned to the mage his voice a bit awkward, "You're better off not knowing, Genis." This earned a You-got-that-line-from-me-look from the younger boy. "Heh, heh, so?"

Kratos almost sighed at their antics, losing patience. "Lead the way then."

The three go into a house. In which, a teenage girl is standing near the only window, talking to herself. "How can I quell these feelings I have?…Aifread…"

Lloyd walks up to her. "If you're looking for Aifread, we heard he went back to his hometown."

The girl whipped around to face him."…What did you say?! Is that true?!"

"Ah…yeah. Isn't it, Genis?"

"Yeah. So it seems, anyway…"

She got psyched up, saying, "This is my chance!" before dashing outside. They follow her to the dock where the trio watch her talking to a spiky-haired boy.

"What's the matter with you?!" She demanded angrily. "You're going to refuse my request? He's returned to his hometown of Luin!"

"It's not like that," the boy retorted. "There are giant monsters at sea now. It's dangerous, and I care about you too much to let you come aboard. That's all."

"Fine. Then you go deliver the letter for me."

"No!" He quickly protested. "Why should I have to act as a go-between for my rival in love!?"

"Oh, please, stop whining! Fine!" The girl turned around and see Lloyd, Kratos, and Genis standing on the dock, listening to them argue. "You there, excuse me.

"Us?" Genis wondered, pointing at himself.

"Do you see anyone else here?" She retorted venomously. "I'd like you to deliver this letter for me to Aifread in Luin."

The three of them walk father on the dock, closer to the pair. "We can't deliver it if we can't cross the ocean," Lloyd responded.

"If you'll deliver it, I'll have Max take you on his boat."

"You can't be serious!" Max protested heatedly.

Lloyd nodded in agreement. "Okay."

"Then it's settled. All right, Max?" She confirmed, even though it sounded to the rest of them like she was asking a question.

"I…I'm not going to do it."

"You're kidding me! Are you saying it's all right if my letter doesn't make it to Aifread?" The girl demanded.

"L…Lyla!" Max stuttered. "No, I mean, it's not…I don't mean that…"

"Then, what do you mean?!" Lyla demanded angrily. "If you keep making a fuss about this, I'll just do this on my own!"

"…Okay, okay. I'll go, I'll go. Dang it…"

"You should've just said that from the start," Lyla told him as she strode over to Lloyd, giving him her letter. "Then it's in your hands now. Make sure it gets to him." She pushed her way through as she left.

"She's really pushy…" Lloyd commented, glancing toward Max.

"…Let me know when you're ready to leave."

Lloyd and Genis—Kratos refused go with them because of reasons, in other words Raine, he wouldn't say—left to find Colette and Raine.

Once the four of them returned, Max asked them, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Lloyd responded.

"Okay, then let's set sail. …Don't blame me if we run into any monsters."

They all boarded the ship and Max was just about to set sail to Palmacosta. "Now we can finally go to the next seal," Lloyd stated excitedly.

"Yeah!" Colette and Genis agreed both their tones practically equal to the young swordsman.

"I was afraid this journey would force me on a boat sooner or later…" Raine murmured, reluctantly climbing aboard.

Since he came on last, Kratos heard Raine's complaint "…" _Heh, seems even the professor's afraid of something._

As the ship was sailing to Palmacosta, the younger passengers kept talking. "We're at sea! We're at sea!" Genis cheered, jumping up and down.

"Settle down, Genis, this thing's tiny," his best friend warned. "Do you want to fall out?"

Insulted, Max commented, "Gee, I'm so sorry my ship is too "tiny" for you!"

"I'm gonna fall!" Colette worried.


	8. Palma Potion, Anyone?

Chapter 7

When they reached Palmacosta, Lloyd thanked Max for the assistance and then all five of the Chosen's group went into the main part of the town. As they walked, Raine and Kratos saw multiple shops consisting of items, armor, and weaponry. Colette led the way through Palmacosta, but when she and the others came to the opposite side, she bumped into someone, causing the stranger to drop something pink. "…There she goes again," Genis commented.

"Owww! What did you do that for?!" the woman Colette had run into demanded at the same time her spiky-haired companion ranted, "Look what you did, you klutz!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the Chosen apologized as she stood up.

"Ahh! The Palma Potion that we just received!" The woman screeched.

"Hey lady, that was a very valuable potion! How are you planning on making up for this?" the guy questioned, glaring at Colette.

"Calm down. We can just replace it," a sorceress remarked evenly.

"I'll buy a replacement potion right away."

"…Replacement potion?!" he demanded. "Do you seriously think that's going to be enough to appease my anger?!"

"Oh, come on, now you just sound like an idiot."

"Lloyd!" Genis said in alarm before the man spoke.

"What-did-you-say?! Do you know who we are?!"

"And I should care because?…" Lloyd taunted, sounding bored.

Man: Why, you little…

"Stop," the sorceress told her male companion. "I'd like to leave here as soon as we can. Don't start any unnecessary trouble."

"I agree. Let's just have them replace the potion."

"Bah. You got off lucky this time, kid. Hurry up and go buy that potion," the spiky-haired man ordered Colette.

"There's no need to bother, Colette!" Lloyd told her.

"No, I ran into them, so I have to pay for it…"

"…Fine, all right."

They traveled around in Palmacosta, searching for a replacement Palma Potion. Colette suggested they go into an items shop called Marble's. Upon entering, the Chosen's group walked in on an argument between a pair of Desians and a teenage girl. She was dressed like a cow girl and had brown hair. "Oh, please! There's no way anyone would sell those to you at a price that low! I'd never let anyone have them for that price, there's no way to make a profit if it's that low!"

"Chocolat…" A woman, most likely the girl's mother, intoned softly.

"You should be thankful that we're even willing to spend money for goods from a rundown shack like this," one of the Desians commented a bit angrily.

"I don't need to hear that from a bunch of filthy Desians! I'm not going to sell one single gel to the likes of you."

"Chocolat, stop!"

"But Mom, these are the same monsters that took Grandma away!"

"You've got some nerve talking to us like that, little girl!" The same Desian retorted. "You keep that up, and we can't guarantee what'll happen to you or this city."

"Just try it!" Chocolat sneered. "As long as Governor-General Dorr is around, we'll never submit to the like of you!"

"You little—" The first Desian growled, looking like he was about to whip the girl.

"Stop! We'll exceed our quota for this year," his companion reminded him. "We need permission from Lord Magnius to go any further."

"Humph," he replied.

The second Desian turned to Chocolat, "Depending on Lord Magnius' mood, you might or might not get to keep that pretty little head of yours!"

Raine, Genis, and Colette look away as the Desian soldiers left the shop.

Chocolat and her mother turned to see the group of five standing a little ways away from the door. "I apologize for what happened. I'm sure you were startled. Welcome to my mother's store, Marble's How can we help you? I'm Cacao and this is my daughter, Chocolat."

"Did…you say your mother is Marble?" Lloyd wondered uneasily, while still trying to keep a straight face.

"Yes, I did. Do you know her?"

"We did not come here to talk, Lloyd," Kratos' voice icily reminded the young double swordsman from near the door, his arms crossed, leaning on the doorframe. "The reason we're here I to replace a Palma Potion that th—Colette, broke."

"Oh, well then. That'll be 1,000 Gald." Kratos stepped up, paid Cacao, received the potion from her, and then left the store, passing his companions on his way out. "It was nice meeting all of you…Chocolat."

"Oh, alright. Enjoy the rest of the time you spend here in Palmacosta," she said annoyed that Kratos had been so cold. "And I hope we were able to be of service." Her smile was fake and shallow as she stood behind the side counter in the shop, muttering, "Since you all are tourists anyway…"

Once the others exited Marble's and met up with Kratos, Raine began to scold him for what he did inside. "Why must you be so rude to the people we meet, Kratos? And don't say you are 'merely doing' your 'job'."

"There is no need to become so disturbed, Miss Sage. I have been hired to protect the Chosen and that is what I intend to do," Kratos countered coldly just before leading the way to where they were to return the Palma Potion to the other group of travelers.

When they were coming back, they heard the two guys of the group talking. "But what are we going to do with it?"

"Sell it to that old man at Hakonesia Peak, what else? We've got no use for the book if we can't read it," the spiky-haired guy's voice explained sounding rather annoyed.

"Why did we ask Door for it again?" the woman who had the potion wondered.

"We need the money, so we'll sell it to him. You know how much that old loon treasures ancient junk."

_Uh, oh…I really hope Professor Raine didn't hear that_, Colette thought worriedly. "I'm back." She stepped forward and handed the Palma Potion to the woman she had bumped into. "I'm so sorry it took so long for us to replace your potion…and that we've wasted a lot of your time."

"You bet you have," The man commented as he turned to leave. "Looks like you're good little boys and girls after all. Just make sure you learn your lesson and don't mess with us again."

"Yes," Colette responded kindly. "I'll be careful."


	9. Do we ALL have to?

Chapter 8

Once they left, Colette and her friends continued on through Palmacosta. Unlike his companions, Genis looked a bit down that they were leaving so soon. Colette, after deciding to see what she could do to help out, paused to walk beside the young mage. "What's wrong, Genis?"

"Huh?" Genis mumbled, looking up at her. "Oh, uh…it's nothing, Colette. Really." His eyes told her differently. They said; "We can't leave yet. There's still somewhere we need to go."

"Are you sure?" she wondered, still not believing Genis' response.

"Well…I applied to an academy here a couple months ago, and I found out I got a perfect score on their entrance exam so…I'd really like to study there, but now we're on the Regeneration Journey and I don't want to make the people all over Sylvarant have to wait for us to regenerate the world any longer."

"So you thought not mentioning it would allow you to forget about it?"

"I guess so," he admitted, his voice sounding like it has a small amount of sadness in it, "but I don't want to bother the others with it, do you?"

"Not if you don't. I'll forget you told me, okay?"

"Don't forget, Colette, just don't mention it to the others, okay?" Genis somewhat pleaded.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Lloyd wondered, appearing out of no where next to Genis. "Say, Genis, weren't you accepted at the school here?"

Surprised he remembered about it, Colette and Genis paused for just a moment before continuing on after Kratos and Raine. Lloyd suddenly jogged up and began walking pace for pace next to Genis' sister, his face turned toward her.

Then, she stopped, telling Kratos and Lloyd to cease walking as well. "Is there anything you—?"

"If there was something you wanted to do here, you should have said so."

"As I was going to say before Kratos interrupted," Raine glowered at him with a simple glance. "I was wondering why you didn't mention the academy yourself."

Genis turned to look at Lloyd, over to his sister, and then back to Lloyd, his face looking like he was surprised they were going to let him go to the academy. "Then can we go back?" he wondered, still uncertain of the others—more specifically Kratos—were willing to postpone the journey long enough to go. He was, until the mercenary himself began walking in the direction of the academy.

_Wow, Kratos didn't even make a comment before agreeing to it. I wonder…_Colette glanced over at the silent warrior at the thought. _Is he lost in his thoughts or something?_

The group came to a large, town square-like place. Near the middle stood a young boy and a man with a small, blond girl next to him. "Governor-General Dorr! Dad was taken away to the ranch and hasn't come back," the boy complained. "Even though I've been a good boy!"

"Hang on just a little longer. I promised, remember?" asked the man's kind voice. "I'll save everyone who's been taken away to the ranch."

"But…I'm lonely…"

"Don't worry," the blond girl told the other child. "Father is a friend of everyone in this city. My mother died of an illness, but your father should still be alive. I'm sure he'll come back."

"…Really?" the boy wondered, turning toward the girl's father.

"Yes. They were all taken away because they fought back against the Desians. I swear I'll rescue them."

"…Okay. I'll wait for Dad to come back."

"Good boy. Let's go Kilia."

"Yes, Father." Kilia and her father leave and go inside one of the buildings.

Lloyd turned to look at his friends, "Who was that?"

Hearing Lloyd's question, an old man nearby turned around. "Governor-General Dorr. He's recruiting soldiers and resisting the Desians. He's a wonderful man."

Next to him, was a woman who looked like she was around thirty. "After losing his wife to an illness, he's raised his daughter Kilia all by himself…" she informed them.

"As long as Governor-General Dorr is here, we won't submit to the Desians," said the old man. "Even if we're carried off to the ranch, Dorr will come and save us. We believe in him."

The "The people of this city are all so strong," Colette stated simultaneously with Lloyd as he said, "That Dorr person must be a great man."

Once they reached Palmacosta Academy, Lloyd expressed his amazement that Genis had even gotten accepted there. "That is completely **impossible**," a young child's voice stated. "There's **no **way a kid like **him **is intelligent enough to come here."

"Genis is really smart! He even knows his multiplication tables," Lloyd countered cockily.

The mage turned to him, "What kind of example is that?"

"A high one for Lloyd," Professor Raine responded, her voice sounding like she was disappointed.

_Poor Lloyd_, Colette though as the other boy's friend made a comment that, since the Chosen's group thought "this kid" was so smart, he would prepare a quiz for his friend and Genis to take.

"Come to the last classroom on the 2nd floor when you're ready, okay?" the first boy said as his companion waited for him on the third lowest step leading upstairs. With a nod from the Professor, they left to go up.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?"

"Don't underestimate Genis, Kratos!" Lloyd told him angrily.

"It is merely a concern, Lloyd," He replied calmly. "The level of intelligence needed to even barely comprehend the material taught here is far above your level."

Not being able to control herself, a soft giggle slipped from the Chosen's mouth. "I'm sorry, Lloyd," She apologized when the boy had turned to look at her in surprise.

The moment right afterwards, all five of them heard a loud rumbling noise. "Heh, heh…looks like I'm hungry." They decided to look around the school for the cafeteria. Eventually, it is found and, during their meal, Professor Raine suggested that they review some things before taking the test. At this, Lloyd asked if they **all **had to take it.

"Well…just try, Lloyd," was her response. After eating, they left, with Lloyd leading the way, to go to a spare classroom and practice. "Is there anything you would like to be able to review, Genis?"

"How about imaginary numbers?"

"Alright then. You always did have trouble with those."

After about a half-hour of review, the Chosen's group agreed it was time to meet up with the young boy that had challenged Genis. Upon entering, they saw the boy beside what looked to be a teacher. "I heard of the test and have prepared the questions myself," he explained when he saw the questioning looks from all but the mercenary. "Just so each person has an equal chance." Everyone took a seat behind the long rows of table-like desks. The teacher passed the quizzes out telling them not to flip over the papers until everyone had received one. After everyone finished—Lloyd included—the teacher collected all the tests. Then, he announced the scores. "In last place is Lloyd Irving with a score of 25."

"Wow, Lloyd!" Colette commented, "That's the highest score of yours yet."

"…" Nobody else besides Lloyd responded, "I can't believe it! I got more than 15 percent on a test!"

"Next is Colette Brunel," the teacher continued, "240."

At this, Lloyd wondered, "You mean it's not out of 100?" his voice ever oblivious.

"It's out of **400**, Lloyd," Genis corrected him.

"Can I announce the rest of the scores?" the old teacher wondered, sounding impaitient with all the interruptions.

"We're sorry, right Genis? Lloyd?" the Professor apologized, giving the aforementioned pair a look that said "agree with me or else."

"Alright then." The teacher glanced back at the test results. "Kratos Aurion, 380."

After he announced the mercenary's score, Colette heard him sorely murmur something but only catching a few words; "…right…never…perfect…thousand years… curse… both…"

"Raine Sage, 400."

"We'd expect nothing less than perfect from the Professor," Lloyd remarked contentedly.

"Mighty Washington, 398. Genis Sage, 400."

At hearing both their marks, Mighty turned to the young mage, "I'm sorry I said all those things about how you were as intelligent as your friend, Genis."

"It's okay. Lloyd usually comes off as an idiot, so don't worry about it."

Startled at his best friend's reply, Lloyd shouted, "Genis!"

"You know he's right, Lloyd."

The double-swordsman turned to glare at his mercenary companion. "I don't need **you** to say that to me, Kratos."

"It's the truth."

As the pair's conflict continued, Colette and the others began to leave and wait outside the classroom. Soon enough, the only two people inside the classroom were Lloyd and Kratos. Although eventually, the topic was constantly changing. It had started out on Lloyd's level of intelligence, to Kratos' stoic personality, then somehow to the topic of Raine and ruins, and finally to where the argument will pick up: "Why do you keep treating me like a little kid? I'm 16 years old and I don't need some random mercenary tell me what the heck to do!"

"Yes, but being 16 means you are still a minor," Kratos countered, folding his arms in front of himself. "This signifies that you need an adult to oversee your—"

"**Still**! That doesn't mean you can boss me around like I'm a three-year-old!" Lloyd shouted, his voice loud enough to go though the walls of the school building, slowly becoming more and more angry at Kratos. He continued, not allowing the elder swordsman to respond. "Maybe you think you're trying to help me, but you're not. Get it?! You may be older than me...and be a heck lot more skilled with a sword, but I don't have to take this from you. You're **not** my dad!"

Kratos froze. "…"

"Uh…Kratos? Did I say something?" The double-swordsman wondered, waving a hand in front of Kratos' face. "Hello? Are…you okay?"

* * *

Cliffhanger! 


	10. Poor Lloyd

_Previously… _

**"You're **not** my dad!" **

**Kratos froze. "…" **

**"Uh…Kratos? Did I say something?" The double-swordsman wondered, waving a hand in front of Kratos' face. "Hello? Are…you okay?" **

* * *

Chapter 9

Kratos' eyes closed as he shook his head slightly, sighing, "It's fine. I—let's hurry up, the others are waiting for us." The mercenary began striding toward the door before Lloyd rushed over, blocking his path.

"No, it's not fine," Lloyd responded angrily. "Why're you acting strange every time you talk to me? Do you hate me or something?"

"This is not the time, Lloyd. The Chosen needs to continue on her Journey of Regeneration."

Lloyd's face twisted in frustration, "Yes it is!" He retorted defiantly. "They can wait just a little longer, can't they?"

While placing a hand over half his face **(A/N: If you've played the game, you know what I mean)** Kratos once again sighed during the pair's "conversation." "All right then, what is it you want to know?"

"I want to know why you're always so different around me than everyone else. I—I just don't get it."

"…" The older swordsman's face faintly fell.

"Are you not gonna tell me?" Lloyd's head tilted a little in confusion. "Come on, Kratos, why can't you explain why not?"

"…Are you sure you want to—"

Lloyd stomped his foot hard on the school floor. "Yes!"

Kratos sighed for the third time. "It is not because I hate you, Lloyd. It is simply because…Well, because you are unpredictable and—"

"Mr. Kratos!" Colette called from outside the room. "The Professor said for me to come get you and Lloyd so we can go on to the next seal."

"Huh? Oh, okay," Lloyd consented absentmindedly, passing Colette as he went down the hallway.

"You're not going to tell him yet?" Colette wondered, her voice sounding like she knew something Kratos didn't want her to.

"What do you mean, Chosen?" Kratos inquired, feigning ignorance, knowing Lloyd was still near.

"Your relation to a certain s—"

"Silence, Chosen." He stepped forward, opening the door when he reached it. "Hello, Lloyd."

"Uh…heh, heh. Hi, Kratos," the younger swordsman greeted awkwardly.

"I suggest we all go down to meet up with the others before Miss Sage gets even more perturbed when we don't show up in less than a few seconds."

"Wha? Per…turbed?" Lloyd wondered. "What's that mean?"

Kratos sighed before explaining in a dull tone, exaggerating the slowness of his voice, "Very angry, Lloyd."

"Oh, why didn't you just say that?"

_Sometimes he's too stupid for his own good…and the rest our's sanity. _"Let us go, Chosen." Kratos intoned as he strode past the pair of teens.

Colette watched him go before she herself followed him, "Come on, Lloyd. It's not right for us to keep the others waiting."

"Wha? Oh, okay."

While Colette and Lloyd went down the stairs to the front of the academy, Kratos silently stayed in the shadows until he was absolutely sure the pair of them were out of ear-shot—especially Colette's.

"Why does she know about your relation to the boy?" A young male's voice questioned, his voice resentful.

"It was accidental, believe me."

"Well if someone else finds anything out about you again, you know what to do to them right?" Kratos nodded as he turned to leave. "Do not disappoint me, Kratos."

"I won't," The man promised solemnly. "You needn't worry."

* * *

Who is Kratos talking to? Review if you have any guesses. 

Sorry this was so short, I'll try to make the next one longer.


	11. Washtubs & Interruptions

First off, I would like to thank Migito for the review.

And since I haven't said this in a while, I NO OWN ToS. It belongs to Namco.

* * *

Chapter 10

In a plain, white room far, _far_ from the Chosen's group's location. They were currently trying to find the imposter Chosen group that they were told, by Governor-General Dorr, were given the Book of Regeneration.

Inside the room mentioned above, a young boy paced back and forth as an older man stood at attention in front of him. The man wore armor-like clothes, a long cape and his blue hair was in a ponytail while the boy's long blond hair flowed behind him as he walked. His clothes were similar to Colette's in appearance, but less dress-like. "How could this have happened?" The boy's voice was full of confusion as well as anger, his hands clasped behind him as he went back and forth. He continued, muttering, "Curse those stupid Renegades, always getting in my way…" The boy stopped in mid-step. "Yuan," he turned toward the blue-haired man. "I want you to go down to Tethe'alla and see how their Chosen is doing. Make sure he doesn't get too many ideas about what our plans may be. We need to keep him on his side so he doesn't find out about the Regeneration Journey's consequences."

Yuan nodded, "Understood, Lord Yggdrasill."

A flash of light appeared upon Yggdrasill, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. In place of the young boy stood a man; he had the same color hair as the boy, but his clothes changed from the loose-fitting outfit of a child to an almost skin-tight white one. Yggdrasill looked him straight in the eyes., "What did you call me?"

"Is there a problem with me calling you 'Lord Yggdrasill'?" Yuan inquired evenly.

"No, but your attitude needs to change. I find it disrespectful."

Meanwhile, the Chosen's group was approaching the dock of the only port leading to Thoda Island Geyser. It had been decided, by Raine, that since they were passing by the House of Salvation Koton, the old man the imposters had sold the Book of Regeneration to, had told them about they could get the Spiritua Statue to give to him. Unfortunately, they arrived to find out that the statue the House of Salvation had was a fake created by Dirk to look like the original that one of the house's priests had lost at Thoda Geyser. So that whole explanation takes the story to where it is now; at the docks.

"Washtubs?" Lloyd complained. "I thought she said we could use the boat."

"Don't complain, Lloyd," the mercenary chided.

"They are washtubs," Genis commented.

"True. Washtubs, hmm…"

Not paying attention to the others' remarks, Colette like the prospect of riding in the washtubs. "Wow! This looks like fun!"

Raine on the other hand, was not so excited about it. "I-I'm going to stay here. You all go on without me."

Lloyd turned to look at her in confusion. "What's wrong, Professor Sage?"

"No-no-nothing," she replied. "I-I'm just not getting in that thing."

"It looks fun to me," commented Colette. "Come on, let's get in!"

Genis reached over and grabbed his sister's wrist, "Yeah, Raine!"

"Ahh!" She shouted, yanking her wrist out of the young mage's hand.

All the others turned to stare at the professor in surprise. "'Ahh'? Professor Sage, are you…afraid of water or something?"

"N-no, you didn't let me finish," Raine responded, her voice faltering a bit.  
"I was just starting to say 'Ahh, this should be fun'."

The others are all doubtful, but remain silent as Raine strides by Lloyd and gets into the washtubs. "Uh…sure." Lloyd followed her, and then Genis and Colette.

"Heh, so she says," Kratos remarked before doing the same.

Back with Yggdrasill and Yuan…

"Lord Yggdrasill, please excuse my rudeness," a voice called as a blond man with white, feathery wings flew over to the pair of men.

"What is it, Remiel?" Yggdrasill questioned sounding annoyed. "Can't you see I am in the middle of something?"

"Yes, my lord, but the Chosen and her friends have broken both the Fire and Water Seals. They are now on their way toward the Wind seal in the Balacruf Mausoleum."

"What of the assassin? Do you have any information on who she is or where she's from?"

"Yes, I do. The assassin is Sheena Fujibayashi from the hidden ninja village of Mizuho," Remiel answered hurriedly. "It seems she has been hired by the Renegades to assassinate the Chosen of Sylvarant."

Yggdrasill raised and hand, stopping Remiel's report. "Do you not think I know that already?"

"Oh, yes, Lord Yggdrasill. Please forgive me."

"Your apology is accepted. Now go to the seal so you can continue the project," Yggdrasill ordered sternly. Remiel bowed, and flew out of the room. Once he had, Yggdrasill reverted back to his child-like form, turning toward Yuan afterward. "See, Yuan? Why can't you treat me more like Remiel does than an inferior being would? Aren't we friends?"

"Lord Yggdra—"

"I'm willing to forgive your past experiences with, or more like betraying me by using, my sister. You knew I didn't approve of it and yet what did you do? You just went on your way, talking to her about how much you 'loved' her. As if I couldn't tell you were lying because I was a kid."

"Lord Yggdrasill, I—"

"I don't want to hear it!" The young boy shouted agitatedly. "Now go do what I told you to, okay?"

"As you wish, Lord Yggdrasill," Yuan consented, bowing in imitation to Remiel before leaving the room.

Yggdrasill watched Yuan's back as he left, leaving the young boy alone in the large room. Just then, a loud knock sounded on the door Yuan had left by. He sighed, "Always being interrupted by someone, aren't I?" the boy mumbled annoyedly before raising his voice to speak. "Who's there?"

"It is I, Lord Yggdrasill. May I come in?"

"Just a moment, Pronyma," Yggdrasill told her, transforming into his adult form. "Come in."

"Lord Yggdrasill, there is a problem at Kvar's ranch. It seems the Chosen's group has infiltrated it and is currently trying to find their way to the control room," Pronyma reported, handing Yggdrasill a small device. "See for yourself."

Sure enough, the device showed a hologram of Lloyd, Genis, and Kratos as they searched for the warp point that would take them to the control room. _Where are the others?_ Yggdrasill thought before it switched to reveal Sheena, Colette, and Raine speaking with freed prisoners outside the human ranch. "What are you doing by just letting them do this? Do you _want _these inferior beings to destroy another ranch?"

"No, but Lord Yggdrasill, this ranch is under Kvar's control. If he wanted to do something about them, he would."

"That's no excuse, Pronyma," Yggdrasill reprimanded. "You know how Kvar is. He won't ask for help, even if he needs it. Now go aid him."

Pronyma bowed to him and then turned to leave. On her way, she commented, "That personality sounds familiar, doesn't it, Lord Yggdrasill?" And then she left the man by himself to go contact Kvar.

—Transmission Begin—

"What is the matter, Pronyma?" Kvar questioned.

"I'll have you know that Lord Yggdrasill has sent me here to help you with the intruders."

"I am already taking care of them as we speak. They're those inferior beings of the Chosen's group."

"And the Angelus Project?" Pronyma inquired, attempting to get Kvar to reveal a secret she had found out that he was working on. "How's that coming?"

"That, Pronyma, is none of your business. Not that you don't already know from stealing the research data I have collected."

The sound of footsteps could be heard from on the other side of the room. "I've found you, Kvar!" Lloyd shouted as he, Genis, and Kratos approached Kvar and Pronyma.

Pronyma's head turned to look at Lloyd. "So, this is Lloyd. I see, he does bear a resemblance."

"Huh?" Lloyd wondered, puzzled.

"So, you've come," Kvar stated, staring at Lloyd and the others before turning back toward Pronyma. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't change the subject, Pronyma! It's clear you've been stealing research data from my Angelus Project."

"I grow tired of you accusations, Kvar. As I have told you, I know nothing of it.

Kvar sighed slightly. "Stubborn woman…I guess I shouldn't expect any less from one who commandeered the leadership of the Five Grand Cardinals. Take heed, Pronyma. Once I retrieve the Exsphere from this inferior being, I shall become the leader of the Five Grand Cardinals. When that happens, _you_ will be begging for _my_ forgiveness.

"You speak nonsense, Kvar," Pronyma objected sourly. "I've also heard that Rodyle has talked you into joining him in one of his schemes. But it would be best not to believe that you can deceive Lord Yggdrasill for long."

—Transmission Terminated—

"So the Mana Cannon is no longer a secret," Kvar concluded, turning to face the group three males. "Well, it doesn't matter. Once I succeed in retrieving that Exsphere, any suspicions I might have been under will be but a distant memory." He prepared to fight the intruders.

"Get ready," Kratos advised his two companions.

"You're not getting my Exsphere, Kvar!" Lloyd told him defiantly.

Kvar and a pair Energy Stones began to battle the Lloyd, Kratos and Genis. After being defeated, Kvar fell to the floor.

"…I did it, Mom," Lloyd said in amazement. "You've been avenged!"

Just then, Colette, Raine, and Sheena ran over to their friends after taking the warp point up to the control room. "Lloyd!" Colette called.

"We've learned of Chocolat's location," Raine informed them.

"Really?" Lloyd wondered.

Noticing something behind Lloyd, Colette shouts, "Look out!" Kratos turned around to see Kvar just about to attack Lloyd. The younger swordsman spun around and, right before he was attacked by Kvar, Colette stepped in front of him and took the strike herself.

"Colette?!" Lloyd caught Colette just as she was about to fall. "Colette, I—"

"Lloyd…are you okay?"

"Yeah, but you're…"

"I'm fine, really."

Kvar turned away and began to walk away from the scene when Sheena appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

Furiously Lloyd drew his sword. "…You!" He plunged his sword at Kvar. Kratos, after drawing his own sword, copied Lloyd's action..

"Kratos…" Kvar started weakly, "you pathetic, inferior being!"

"Feel the pain…" Kratos intoned before swiping his sword at Kvar, "…of those inferior beings…" He slashed Kvar which caused him fall to the floor, "…as you burn in hell!" Then, Kratos sheathed his sword as he spoke the last words to Kvar.

Back with Yggdrasill… He had been watching the entire scene, continuously becoming more angry at everyone in the control room. Especially Kratos, "That traitor! How could he betray me like that?!" Yggdrasill demanded, turning off the projector.

"Who do you mean, Yggdrasill?" A man's voice inquired aloofly.

Yggdrasill spun around to glare up at the speaker for he was in child form. "Kratos!" He seethed. "You told me not worry and trust you wouldn't—"

"I simply told you not to worry that one of the others would find out about me."

"I did, but aren't you the one who just killed one of the Five Grand Cardinals?!"

Kratos stared at Yggdrasill, even though his face didn't show it, in slight amusement. "You care that one of them was killed by me?" He commented. "Magnius has been killed as well."

"You don't think I know that?! The only member of the Five Grand Cardinals to have come in contact with them that h_asn't _died at their hands is Forcystus, who is still alive."

"Are you saying you would rather me have acted suspicious and tell the others not to kill him?"

Child Yggdrasill gave Kratos a look that if spoken would have said; Is what I'm telling you really _that_ hard to understand? "No, dang it, Kratos!" He shouted, stomping his left foot on the ground multiple times. "That's not what I meant and you know it!"

A shadow of a smirk appeared on Kratos' face, "Heh. If you insist, Yggdrasill." He turned his back to the young boy, a small light appearing on his back. Once the light disappeared, a pair of blue, crystal-like wings could be seen coming out of his back. "I shall report back later. Good bye for now."

"Get back here, Kratos!" Yggdrasill demanded just as Kratos disappeared into thin air. "Curse him," He muttered, realizing Kratos had left to rejoin the group on the Regeneration Journey.

* * *

Heh, heh, heh. I enjoy having people annoy Yggdrasill. If you can't tell. 


	12. Those Foul Tomatoes

I would like to thank Migito and Shushuna for the reviews!

**Note: **This chapter has not gone directly from the last one. It has skipped some of the storyline, so if there is any reference not found in the earlier chapters, it was because it occured during the time being focused on Yggdrasill. K?

And now, the story shall continue... (I think they've all realized that already). Thanks, Lloyd, now shut it or I'll make you go back to Iselia. (Fine...)

* * *

Chapter 11

The morning after Kvar's ranch was destroyed, the Chosen's group—after allowing Sheena, their new-found ally, to join them on the Journey of Regeneration—defeated a bird-like creature by the name of Iapyx, and then all five of them settled down for the night near village of Asgard.

"Colette," Lloyd began, "let me see your hand."

"Huh? Why?"

"Just show me!" He insisted, taking Colette's out-stretched hand. "You're hurt! It must have happened when you fell. Look how much you're bleeding!"

Colette took a few steps back, releasing herself from Lloyd's hand. "But it doesn't hurt."

Lloyd's voice turned from that of concern to one of surprise. "What?"

"Uh…I mean, it doesn't hurt…that much."

Lloyd, a little confused, took a step, backing away from Colette. "…Colette, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Oh, sure."

"Come on, this way," he told her, making a motion with his hand as he strode over to a place out of ear-shot of their friends.

"What is it you want to talk to me about, Lloyd?"

"We-well, I…I wanted to know who you meant when you were talking to Kratos," Lloyd explained a little awkwardly.

"Oh, um…" Colette giggled slightly before continuing on. "I promised Mr. Kra—I mean, Kratos that I wouldn't say."

_She's lying._ "Hey, are you thirsty, Colette?"

"Well, a little. Why?"

"I'll be right back, okay?" Lloyd hurried back to the campsite and over to where Genis was sitting beside the fire. "Genis, can you make two mugs of hot coffee?"

"Huh?" The young mage wondered, looking up at his best friend. "Oh, okay. Why?"

"I have a plan. Can you make them for me?"

"Can't you do it yourself?" Genis asked, his voice sleepy-sounding.

"You do it better than me."

Genis sighed really slowly and loudly. "…All right, Lloyd. I will."

Lloyd waited a few minutes for Genis to make the two coffees. Then, the pair of mugs in his hands, the brunette returned to the secluded area where Colette was waiting. "Here," he handed her one of them. "It's hot coffee."

"Thanks."

"Hot, isn't it?"

"Yeah, really hot," Colette agreed.

"…It's actually iced coffee."

"What?" Colette wondered, puzzled at what Lloyd had just said.

"I had Genis make it cold," he explained, his voice dull.

"Oh, hehe, yeah," she laughed slightly, "of course it's cold."

Lloyd's expression changed as he realized his suspicions were true. "I lied. It's actually hot." Lloyd's voice was monotone sounding. Hearing that, Colette's hands automatically dropped the mug she was holding. "…I knew it. How long have you been like this?!" The boy demanded. "You can't feel anything at all, can you?!"

"Th…that's not true," Colette stuttered.

"You're lying!" Lloyd stated, fully convinced into what he was saying was true by that point. "When you fell earlier, you already couldn't feel anything, could you?!"

"W…well, uh…but…uh…"

"You were bleeding like crazy," he continued, "but you didn't even flinch when I squeezed your hand!"

Colette's head dropped, her vision looking at her feet, "…I guess the secret's out."

"You haven't been eating lately either," Lloyd commented.

Colette giggled. "I eat!"

"Hardly. You even started eating food you don't like. And that's not all…Have you been sleeping?"

"Of course," she giggled again. "See? My eyes aren't red or anything."

"Stop lying to me!" Lloyd told her, his voice seeming like he couldn't believe Colette would lie to anyone. "You always do that fake giggle when you lie," He stated.

"Th-th-that's not true…"

"…Is it really that hard for you to trust me, Colette?"

"No! It's not like that! I just—" she sighed in defeat. "I just didn't want anyone to worry."

"Colette…What's happening to you?"

"I don't know," Colette replied truthfully. "I don't know, but things first got strange when I released the Fire Seal. After that, I didn't want to eat anymore. And even if I did, it didn't have any taste."

"No taste?""

Colette nodded. "Uh, huh. It was like I was eating sand," she admitted. "I can't hold anything down when I force myself. So, I just haven't been eating. I don't know why, but I never seem to get hungry anymore."

Lloyd was in complete shock. "That's…that's…"

And then when I released the next seal, I stopped getting tired. I try to, really I do. But even if I close my eyes, I just can't sleep. I haven't slept at all since then. Now with this one, I stopped feeling anything."

"Why…" Lloyd was just plain confused now. "Why didn't you say anything?!" he questioned.

"Well…I-I figured, this is just what it means to become an angel," she answered softly. So I told myself not to let it get to me."

"Is this is what it means to become an angel?!" The double-swordsman demanded angrily. "Not eating anymore, not sleeping anymore, not feeling anything anymore?!"

Colette quickly raised her head to look up at Lloyd. "But my eyes have actually gotten better," she tried to calm him down with good news, "I can see really far away now. And my hearing, too. I can hear even the faintest sounds really well. "but ended up mentioning bad news as well. "I can hear them so well that…it's…kinda painful sometimes."

Lloyd took a few steps closer to Colette and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry, Colette. You've gone through so much, and still take on any challenge we come across. While I wasn't able to do anything about it because I-I didn't realize what was going on at all. I'm sorry…I'm so stupid."

"No, it's not your fault. You didn't know because I never told you. I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?"

"It's my fault you didn't know about what was happening to me. I'm—"

"No, it's not your fault…I'm the one who should be sorry, Colette."

"Please don't tell the others," Colette pleaded.

"Why not?"

"Well, I mean, we're all on this trip together and I want it to be fun. So, I don't want you to worry about it either, okay?"

Lloyd sighed, "Okay…You're so stupid!"

"I'm sorry, Lloyd. Even though you're crying for me, and I'm happy…so happy that I want to cry…but I can't. Not anymore. I'm sorry."

Lloyd let go of her as he suggested they both get back to the campsite. When they got back, the two of them tried to sleep. Or in Colette's case, pretended to sleep.

The next morning, Lloyd, as usual, woke up last. "Lloyd…Lloyd…wake up already, Lloyd." The young mage sighed right before beginning to cast a spell. Although, before Genis could finish, a small amount of freezing cold water contacted with the brunette's face, waking him up.

"Huh? Wha—I'm awake," Lloyd said, immediately sitting up. "What was that for, Genis?" he accused.

"Don't look at me, Lloyd. I'm not the one who did that. It was—oh…"the boy began to defend himself, turning to his right in order to explain, but when he did, no one was there.

"Who was it, Genis?"

Genis stared in confusion (**A/N: A first?**) at the empty space beside him. "I thought I saw Kratos…never mind." He left to go over and talk to Sheena.

_Kratos, huh?_ Lloyd's head turned from left to right as he searched for the purple-clad mercenary. Getting up, the young boy felt an uneasy feeling tugging at the back of his mind. He spun around, drawing only one of his blades as he did, and pointed his sword tip at the other person's throat.

"This is interesting…" the man's monotone voice commented.

"Kratos?!" Lloyd's voice sounded as if he were taken by surprise. He cleared his throat, "I-I mean, you'd best not stand behind me, Kratos."

"Heh, that sounds familiar."(**A/N: Occurred during the last chapter[also game ref.**).

"Oh, uh…heh, heh," Lloyd stammered, one of his hands behind his head. "I guess it does, huh?"

"…"

"Wha-what's wrong, Kratos?"

"It's nothing. Now would you remove your sword?"

"Oh, sorry about that." Kratos sighed. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I apologize for making it seem you did something wrong."

"Then why did you—?"

Kratos gave the boy a doubtful look "You would listen to someone if they told you to put your weapon away?"

"Well, no, but you're different. I know that I can trust you not to hurt me if I do, so that's why I took it away."

The mercenary's head shook slowly. "That soft-heartedness of yours will be yours down fall, Lloyd. You mustn't go telling that to anyone, even if you do trust them."

Just as he had finished giving his warning, Sheena ran up to them with two bowls in her hands. "Lloyd! Kratos!" she called, still yet a distance away from the swordsmen. "Here, I brought you guys some food."

"Thanks, Sheena, what is it?" Lloyd wondered, not able to figure out what the ingredients were just by smelling it. "It looks good to me," He said just before taking a spoon-full of the food Sheena had brought them. "Ah!" The boy coughed slightly, turning his back to Sheena. He made a disgusted face toward Kratos, who hadn't even relieved the ninja girl of the other bowl yet, and then turned back around, smiling. "It tastes as great as it looks, Sheena. What is it?"

"It's the Mizuho recipe for spaghetti. One of the best there is. Of the ones I've ever tasted anyway," she explained, a little enthusiastically. "See you guys back a camp, okay?" Disappearing in a cloud of smoke, Sheena left the bowl of spaghetti for Kratos to eat.

Lloyd glanced at the mercenary, over to the spaghetti bowl, and then back at Kratos. "Aren't you going to eat it?"

"And have to deal with the foul taste of tomatoes?" Kratos responded icily.

The boy stared at him in surprise. "You mean there were tomatoes in that stuff? No wonder why it tasted so bad, tomatoes are disgusting!"

"You are the only one I have met that has said that."

"What, you don't like tomatoes either?" Kratos shook his head. _Wow…that's strange._

"Lloyd…"

_I think I've heard that phrase before…'the foul taste of tomatoes'…_

"Lloyd…"

_I think I remember Dad said that once when I was a kid, but—_

"Lloyd…Are you paying any attention to what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I-I am."

"Then what was it I just said?" Kratos inquired, his voice doubtful.

"Uh…heh, I know what it was. It was 'then what was it I just said'," Lloyd answered, his hands making air quotes, grinning at Kratos. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Kratos sighed, shaking his head a little. "No, I asked you your reason for wanting to tag along with the Chosen on her journey. You knew it would be filled with trials, yet you still chose to come."

Lloyd shrugged, "I didn't want Colette to have to face everything by herself. Especially since she can't feel—oops."

The mercenary gave him a look of slight surprise, even though he knew what Lloyd was talking about. "What was that?"

"What was what?" _I shouldn't have said that._

"You said the Chosen can't feel anything? Is that what you're trying to hide?"

"Uh…n-n-. I was just—"

"Don't worry about it, I already knew."

Hearing that, Lloyd simply stared at Kratos in disbelief. He was unable to understand how Kratos, of all their companions, knew about it before he did. "You mean you…" Kratos nodded. "Everything?" He nodded again. "Oh…"

"_That_ is another subject you don't shout out to people about," Kratos intoned coldly.

"Oh…uh, ye-yeah. Later, Kratos." Lloyd picked up the two bowls and, after calling out for Noishe, gave the dog both of them to eat. Kratos tried to convince Lloyd not to, but the younger swordsman didn't listen to him. Afterwards, Lloyd turned around to face camp and then began walking away. He assumed that Noishe wanted to stay with Kratos.

"Lloyd."

Stopping, his head turned to face Kratos. "What is it?"

Kratos stepped forward, motioning for Noishe to stay where he was, until he was standing beside Lloyd. "Don't die, Lloyd."

Taken aback, Lloyd remarked, "Okay…what's with you all of a sudden?"

Although Lloyd was surprised a little, his reaction was nothing compared to Kratos'. He, too, was surprised at his actions. So much that he couldn't speak for a couple seconds. "…Excuse me. I apologize." With that, Kratos walked away, not even looking back once to see Lloyd's response.

Lloyd hurriedly mounted Noishe's back, while he shouted at Kratos to wait up. But Kratos, like Lloyd with the spaghetti, didn't respond. "Kratos!" The boy nudged his dog to get him to go faster, but then he and Noishe went flying by Kratos in a blur of red, black, green, and white. "Ahh!!! Noishe, st—huh?" Lloyd started just before his dog came to a halt. "What the—? How did you know I was gonna say—?"

"Don't get too out of hand next time," Kratos' voice chided.

"What? Oh, uh…okay," the boy responded just as Noishe nodded his head, whining. "What's wrong, Noishe?" Not getting a response from his dog, Lloyd turned around to find, to his surprise, Kratos mounted behind him. Thoroughly puzzled, the brunette asked Kratos how he was able to catch up with them so quickly and get on Noishe without him noticing the mercenary doing so.

"…Lloyd."

"What is it?"

"The Chosen's journey is nearly complete."

"Yeah, so? Just because Colette's gonna become an angel soon doesn't mean I can't—wait, it does, doesn't it? When she becomes an angel…will I…"

"What is it you're trying to ask?"

"Wh-when Colette finally becomes an angel, are we going to be able to talk to her?"

Kratos' expression turned more stone-like than usual. "When the Chosen regenerates the world, it will be saved. Is that not what you want?"

"Not if that means Colette's gonna be all by herself with nothing to do except float around doing nothing all day!"

"Then I suppose you will never get what you wanted, Lloyd."

Confused, Lloyd asked, "Why not?"

"Because the Chosen has already decided that she wants to become an angel, even when she knew of the consequences."

"But—" he began to object.

"Right now, there is nothing you can do except be with her for the last few days she has left as a human."

"Can't I tell her not to—"

"No. I had told the Chosen I would not tell anyone of you this, so now you must act as if you do not know about it. Do you understand?"

"Ah—yeah…" The double-swordsman sighed in defeat. "I-I guess I'll go back to camp now…could you get off, Kratos?…Or do you wanna come too?"

"No," he answered. "I'll keep watch over everyone tonight. Don't worry about it."

"Oh…okay then." Lloyd, riding on Noishe's back, began to trod away immediately after Kratos dismounted onto the grass. His voice was like that of a zombie's. "Thanks for the advice…" And Lloyd, being too caught up in his own thoughts didn't even notice what it was he had said next, "…Dad…"

* * *

How's that for confusing? 

If you've got any questions, ask & I'll try to respond.

Anyway, please review!


	13. Kratos' Disturbing Memories

Hi!

First off, I'd like to thank Shushuna for the review.

AND: I don't own ToS nor any of its characters, it belongs to Namco, but I do own what occurs here in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 12

After Lloyd left, Kratos wandered around in a daze as he tried to figure out why the younger swordsman had said what he said. _What did he mean by that?_ Constantly ran through his mind. His feet carried him so far over; he came to the lake edge of Luin. He stared blankly out over the water, his vision fuzzy as he recalled memories from long ago that took place in the village of Luin.

—**15 Years Ago, Inside the Village of Luin—**

**The village wasn't in shambles and many people lived there peacefully. Kratos had come to visit everyone in Luin, and right when he entered after coming off the bridge, someone jumped out from behind the nearby inn and tried to tackle him. Emphasis would have been on "tried" for Kratos side-stepped their attack at the last moment.**

"**Kratos…" The woman whined, dragging out his name, as she sat on the ground where she had landed. "How do always know when I'm coning?"**

"**You try the same tactic every time, Anna," he explained, reaching down with one hand to help her up. Anna had short, uneven, brown hair and she wore a simple dress that went all the way down to her ankles. "It gets easier and easier to evade."**

"**Apparently," Anna remarked dejectedly. She turned away from Kratos as she led him to her house. "Come on, let's go home."**

"**For what reason?" Kratos inquired, not moving from where he stood.**

"**Do you always need a reason to do something?" Anna wondered, taking one of his wrists in her hands and attempting to drag the auburn-haired man toward a building. "It's time for lunch, Kratos."**

"**I see…"**

**The two of them arrived at the front door of a small, run-down house. Anna then opened the door, told him to get inside first, went inside herself, and then closed the door behind her. Afterwards, she began to make lunch for the two of them while Kratos waited in a wooden chair.**

"**There." She set a plate of red slices in front of him and had a salad for herself. "You finish those and I'll let you have any other food you want for the rest of the month."**

**Kratos glared down at the tomato slices and then up at Anna, his face emotionless. "Must you torment me with such things every month?"**

**Anna giggled. "Yes, I must." She grinned stupidly at him before beginning to eat her own food.**

**And, even though he resented it, Kratos ate the entire plate of food just so he wouldn't have to eat different tomato-filled dishes for another month. For the first time Anna had done this, he out-right refused to eat the tomatoes. And then, each time he came, she would feed him random foods that wouldn't normally have tomatoes in them (she put tomatoes in anyway). This caused Kratos to become suspicious of Anna's cooking as well as began to train himself to sense the presence of any kind of tomatoes in a certain radius of him (that's how much he disliked them).**

"**So, how are you doing?"**

"…" **He didn't answer.**

"**I was starting to wonder where you were, Kratos. You usually stop by every four weeks. Why didn't you come last time?"**

"**He's getting suspicious of my leave every few weeks, Anna. I can't have any kind of pre-determined pattern any longer. It's—"**

"**Yes, yes, I know. 'It's for the good of my safety' that you do what you do. And I'm grateful for that. As well as for your decision that we could come back her for a few days. It's nice for me to be able to talk to my old friends, but…"**

"**Yes?" Kratos' face stayed emotionless, yet his voice hinted of his curiosity.**

"**But what about you? If this…" She paused, lowering her voice, "Yggdrasill…" her voice returned to normal, "person is really as you say, then aren't you in danger too?"**

"…**You would rather leave Luin and go somewhere else?"**

"**If…means you and…will be safe…be it." His memory suddenly started fading away. "Where…suggest we…to next?"**

_What is going on here? _Kratos thought, his mind shifting from one memory to another, later memory.

—**Inside the forest near Iselia—**

"**What can I do for ya, Kratos?"**

"**I require a Key Crest for a special exsphere. How long will it take you to do it?"**

"**Well, depends. Do you need it immediately or—?"**

"**As soon as dwarvenly possible," Kratos replied coldly, his face empty. He stared at the dwarf, who didn't respond for a couple of minutes, until the short and stout dwarf left to go inside his house. Kratos followed, "This is important, Dirk."**

"**Dwarven vow number 2, never abandon someone in need," Dirk recited evenly as the mercenary stared at him in silence. The dwarf turned to face the human man, "I never said I wouldn't do it, Kratos."**

"**How much do I owe you for the Key Crest?"**

**Dirk grunted softly. "Nothin'. You don't owe me anything for a Key Crest, Kratos. If you want one, it means you're tryin' to help someone I don't know. Maybe I do know 'em, but who knows? All I know is you're going to be doing good by giving the person in question this Key Crest." While he explained his reasons not to charge anything for his help, Dirk began to craft a Key Crest for a "special" exsphere.**

**After he received the Key Crest from Dirk, Kratos left to go back to Iselia via the land route. His journey took him two days to reach the dwarf's house, so he knew it would take two more to return. Although during that time, Kratos was called back to Derris Kharlan by Yggdrasill.**

"**Where in Sylvarant have you been going so often, Kratos?" Yggdrasill demanded as soon as the human set foot in the main room. "Surely you aren't wandering around the entire declining world while everyone else does everything."**

"**Would 'everyone' include you, Yggdrasill?"**

**He smirked cockily at Kratos. "You know that, as the leader of Cruxis, I cannot rest for very long. There may not be many problems down on either world, but I am the only one of the Four Seraphim who is taking care of things."**

**Kratos, dressed not in his normal purple mercenary clothes but those similar to Yggdrasill's only with a pair of belts criss-crossed around his waist, a sheath at his side, as well as other differences, nodded. "So it would seem…What of Yuan?"**

"**That, disgrace of a Seraphim, has not been here for months. He had better have a good reason for being gone so long..."**

**After his comment, an awkward silence enveloped them for a while until Kratos spoke. "Do I have permission to return to Sylvarant and finish what I have started?"**

**He didn't respond for a few moments, his face looking like he was deep in thought. "You may stay until you have completed what it is you have started, but you must come back once you're done. Do you understand, Kratos?"**

**Kratos knelt down on one knee. "Understood." He then stood and unfurled his wings. "I shall return, Lord Yggdrasill."**

**Kratos was just about to leave when a flash of light quickly appeared and disappeared to reveal child Yggdrasill. "You don't need to call me 'Lord Yggdrasill', Kratos. That is one privilege of existing so long. Especially since you were there when all four of us joined together to put an end to the war."**

"**I you haven't noticed this yet…os, the 'Great…War' still...yet ceased. We are…"**

"It seems I can't control what kind of memory I re-visit," the mercenary mused, slowly standing up after having sat at the lake ever since he arrived there at Luin. He began walking away from the water, heading back to camp.

When he got back, everyone except Lloyd was sound asleep. Although, Lloyd was almost nodding off himself. The young swordsman's head whipped up to face the "intruder" in their campsite. "What the—? Oh, it's just you, Kratos."

Kratos gave him a blank stare. "What do you mean by 'it's just' me?"

"Oh, we-well…I thought you were a bandit or something, so…" The boy trailed off, grinning stupidly at Kratos. "…heh, heh. I'm glad it's you and not a bad guy."

_If only you knew, Lloyd,_ Kratos thought sadly. _If only you knew…_ "You should still be careful, Lloyd," he reprimanded sternly. "No one ever knows when they will be ambushed by an enemy."

Lloyd yawned. "Yeah, well, I have one question for you…would you mind answering?"

"Depends. What's your question?"

"Uh…do you wa—I mean, where did you go the whole day? The Professor didn't think it was a good idea for the rest of us to continue on without you, so we just stayed here the whole time you were gone."

"Luin."

"What about Luin? Uh--I mean, is that where you went? All the way up to Luin?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Kratos inquired evenly. "Now what was your original question?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You started to ask 'do you want'. Finish what you started and ask me your question."

"I want to know if…you wanted…to look at the stars with me."

"Look at the stars?"

"Uh, yeah. Look, I know it sounds stupid, but ever since I met you I've had this feeling that I've met you somewhere before."

"…Really."

"I know it's weird and you probably don't believe me, but I really think I know you from somewhere. And—"

"I'll agree to it."

"Don't interrupt me, Kratos," Lloyd ordered, not fully listening to what it was Kratos had said. "Just because you think I'm some little kid who doesn't know what I'm doing doesn't give you the right to—"

"I said 'okay', Lloyd."

"I told you not to—what?"

"I'll repeat this once more and only once more since we are losing time as we continue to talk. I accept your offer."

"What? Really?" Kratos nodded in agreement. "Alright!" Lloyd cheered, pumping his fist into the air. The same fist, Kratos noticed, that had his exsphere attached to the back of his hand.

"That exsphere…" Kratos murmured, his vision starting to get fuzzy as he began to lose his balance as well as consciousness.

"Kratos? What's wrong? Kratos!" Lloyd caught the mercenary just before he was going to hit the ground.

While Kratos' senses failed him, many moments of his past flashed before his eyes. _Anna…Yuan…Martel…Fa-Father?…What is going on here? Why is this happening? Is it all because Lloyd's exsphere looks familiar to me? _All of his memories ceased rushing past his eyes as a vision of himself appeared. He was kneeling on a blank floor inside a completely empty room, his hands shackled at the wrists to the wall behind him. There was no opening of any kind in the room, and the only reason Kratos could be seen inside the dark room was because he had been there before. _Yggdrasill…_He fumed in his mind.

**Suddenly, a young child's voice spoke, taunting the bound human. "What's wrong, Kratos?" It questioned cockily. "Are you ashamed that you killed her? Your **dearly departed **wife met an end fitting of a runaway, didn't she?"**

**Kratos didn't respond. He didn't even flinch when the kid's voice mentioned Anna.**

"**Answer me, Kratos," the child commanded just before he sent a slight shock coursing through Kratos' chains. The result from Kratos was simply a practically inaudible grunt. "Did that not affect you? **Fine.**" **

**Once again, a serge of electricity went through the metal bindings and into Kratos' body. This time, it had the power of an Indignation strike. It caused Kratos' mind to get distracted and he reacted physically by wincing in pain.**

**The child's voice rang throughout the entire room as he laughed like a psycho** (1)**. "I'm** so **sorry, Kratos. I didn't **mean **to hurt you so much," he remarked sarcastically, still slightly laughing.**

_**All this because I married Anna?**_

"**No, Kratos. None of this is because of that inferior being," he said seeming to have been able to hear Kratos' thoughts. "I just want to see a little life out of you, Kratos. Ever since you came back from Sylvarant you haven't said a word to anyone unless forced to. I knew Kvar had told you I had found out about **her**, so it was only a matter of time before you got what you had coming to you, Sensei. So if you want out of here, hurry up and speak."**

_**I refuse, Yggdrasill.**_

**Yggdrasill frowned. "You're no fun anymore, Kratos," he pouted.**

_**I don't care, child.**_

"**Hey! You had better show me more respect if you **ever **want me to let you out of there."**

_**Maybe I don't want to be released.**_

**His scowl deepened. "Just because you're older than me doesn't give you the right to talk down to me." Yggdrasill retorted angrily. "Now respect me!" He shouted, sending yet another wave of electricity, after doubling the power of his last strike, into Kratos.**

**Kratos didn't move an inch from the attack. The only thing he did was respond mentally, **_**I only give respect to those who deserve it**_**, causing Yggdrasill to launch yet another shock.**

"**Fine, Kratos, stay in there. I hope you die…" Yggdrasill snapped venomously, leaving Kratos alone in the room as his voice slowly faded away.**

**Kratos sighed heavily. **_**I suppose he's left me here...Good. **_**He thought. **_**I hope so too, Yggdrasill.**_

"**Oh, one…thing…son…died…well…that inferior being…did…" Yggdrasill added, resulting in Kratos to allow his head to fall as low as it could since he was still bound to the wall.**

_**Please, let…die...Great…Spirits…**_

That was the last thing the purple-clad mercenary heard before his eyes slowly opened, to reveal Lloyd looking down at him. "Kratos!" the boy exclaimed, startled. "You're alive!"

"Lloyd…? Why are you—?"

"Don't talk, okay? You're mind's still trying to regain control over you." Lloyd set Kratos' head down on the ground as he got up and ran over to the nearby river, a piece of white cloth in his hand. "Just wait right there, alright?" After dousing the material in water, he retuned and set it on top of the elder swordsman's forehead. "Are you o—sorry. I told you not to talk, didn't I?"

Kratos nodded, the white material sliding off his head.

The boy picked it up again and set it back on Kratos' forehead. "You had me worried there, Kratos. I thought…I thought you had died…"

* * *

(1) In other words, his laugh sounded a little bit like this: MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! (like he does during the cut scene in which Yuan reveals that Kratos is Lloyd's father).

Anyway, review please!!!!!


	14. I demand answers!

Chapter 13

"You…what?" Kratos' voice was soft and strained.

Lloyd looked down at Kratos, his face serious. "Didn't I tell you not to talk, Kratos?" He questioned, sounding somewhat like Kratos usually did when he spoke.

"I just…want to know why…you thought I was dead."

The dual swordsman visibly flinched. "Sorry, I –wait a second, I said not to talk. So don't talk, got it?"

An awkward silence crept upon them, the younger swordsman keeping an eye on his elder companion. Kratos, however; had closed his eyes in an attempt to keep silent as questions filled his mind.

"Kratos? Can I ask you something?" The man nodded in a non-verbal response. "What happened to you when you passed out?" _That still confuses me…Kratos is so strong…how come he's so tired? Is it because of what he had dreamed about?__  
_"I had a dream," Kratos responded as he sat up, causing the white cloth on his forehead to fall off and into his lap. "About something that happened in my past a long time ago."

"Re-really?" _Sounds like what happened a couple days ago when I was gonna go to sleep…_ "What was it about?" Lloyd asked cautiously.

"A…friend of mine was angry at me for something I had done."

"What did this guy do to you that it made you cringe out of pain?" His voice sounded like he was a little afraid of what the elder swordsman might answer.

"…"

"He did do something to hurt you…didn't he?" He wondered, his voice awkward and apologetic.

"It was only an Indignation strike, Lloyd," Kratos commented like he didn't care about what had happened in his own past. "You needn't worry so much about me."

"Indignation?!" Lloyd blurted. "But, Kratos, Genis told me one time that that's a level-three Lightning attack and shouldn't be taken lightly."

"I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Then the past doesn't matter if the present is—" Kratos began to explain coldly before he was cut off by an angry teenager.

"Yeah, but what if—what if what happened in the past affects us for the worse? What do you have to say about that?!"

"…Is there something in your past like that?" Kratos inquired, trying not to sound like he knew how Lloyd was going to answer.

"Ye-yeah…A couple of days ago, the night after we fought Kvar, I had some kind of vision-like dream. I think I was about two or three years old at the time. Mom and I had been playing outside, in what looked sort of like Iselia does now, when a group of Desians attacked us. Mom picked me up and began running as fast as she could. She went all the way up to this cliff in Iselia forest, but then we got trapped. Kvar and his Desians were in front of us, and the cliff edge was behind us. Then, just as my…dad arrived, Mom still had me in her arms at that point; she set me down behind her as to keep me safe from Kvar. I could only watch what was going on by looking at the other people's feet, so I knew that Kvar had taken something away from Mom just as the last Desian behind Kvar fell down to the ground; my dad had killed them all…" Lloyd paused for a moment, glancing uneasily at his mercenary companion. His expression turned into a blank stare, his brown eyes boring straight into Kratos' auburn ones as Lloyd asked, "Do you think my dad's still alive? I mean, I know he was the one who killed her and all but…Near the end, I remember falling off the cliff and into a river just after his deep voice asked Mom if she was okay."

"What was your mother's name?"

"Back home, near Dad's house in the forest, is my mom's grave. Her name was—"

"Anna."

"What? How do you know that her name is—?"

"I have known Dirk longer than you have been alive, Lloyd. I simply read her name off the gravestone the last time I was there."

"But, the last time you would have been there was sometime before you, Colette, and the Professor left on the Journey of Regeneration without Genis and me."

Kratos sighed, placing a hand over his left eye. "We decided to leave you behind because—"

"You said it was 'cause we would get in the way," Lloyd interrupted resentfully.

"It was because we thought the two of you were more likely to get harmed during one of the Chosen's trials," the mercenary corrected. And then, before he could stop himself, added, "I, was the one who suggested to Miss Sage that you shouldn't come…I didn't want you to get hurt, Lloyd…" Then, noticing what he sounded like, Kratos quickly continued with, "You or Genis."

Lloyd stared in awe at what he had just heard come out of Kratos' mouth. _He doesn't want me to get hurt? Wha—I thought—_"Uh…Kratos?"

"Yes? What do you want, Lloyd?"

"Um…we-well, I just wanted to know if you…had enough energy to look at the stars with me." Instead of answering right away, Kratos sat there, silent, for a moment. "Y-you don't have to look at the stars with me if you don't want to, Kratos," Lloyd added hurriedly. "I just thought that since you—"

"Lloyd, look at the sky."

"Huh? Oh, okay." The young teen turned his head to gaze up at the sky. And, to his dismay, the sky was completely devoid of stars. "The sun is—"

"Rising. Yes, I know," Kratos stated. "And I apologize, Lloyd. You wanted to look a the stars and then I ruined your plans—"

"No you didn't!" Lloyd protested loudly, resulting in him receiving a startled look from the elder swordsman. "Sorry. I just meant that… Albeit you were passed out, I…got to spend time just doing nothing and, even though I was worried about if you were okay, I really feel like I can trust you."

"What does that have to do with looking at the stars?"

"Oh, well…nothing, I guess," Lloyd responded, stumbling over the words for his answer, blushing slightly. "But what I'm trying to say is that I don't care what I do during the time, only that I'm spending the time…with…you, Kratos."

The magic swordsman's expression turned stone-like. "What is your reason for saying such an…odd, statement?"

"I told you before, Kratos, I fell like I know you from somewhere else. Not only that, but your voice sounds familiar too."

Taken aback, Kratos simply stared at the young teen, his statement still ringing in the man's head. "What do you mean by that?" He questioned, seeming just a bit curious about what Lloyd's answer would be.

"You see…in my dream, I heard this man's voice that sounds similar to—never mind. I think we should—"

"Quiet, Lloyd," Kratos told the younger swordsman. "There's someone nearby."

"What—? Oh, sorry…"

The pair could hear footsteps coming closer and closer as they got louder and more distinct. There were two people by the sounds of it. One was a young child while the other was more near Kratos' age. It soon became apparent to both of them that the newcomers weren't trying to sneak up on them. In fact, as the pair of footsteps got louder, they could hear a young boy and a woman arguing.

"…hasn't been here at all ever since we set up camp yesterday, Genis. We need to get moving if Colette's going to release the rest of the seals. Besides, when do you remember Kratos ever protecting Colette before?"

"There was that one time he told Sheena he was the Chosen in order to do what Phaidra asked him to back in Iselia," the young mage countered his sister. "Also, he did help me control Noishe when I was trying to find you guys after Lloyd got captured by the Desians back in Triet."

"What does that instance have to do with him protecting Colette?" Raine inquired, disbelievingly.

"Well, when he spoke to Noishe it was like he understood what Kratos had told him. The only part I don't understand is how he communicated with Noishe without even talking."

"He didn't speak to Noishe verbally?" Raine's tone gradually became suspicious while Lloyd turned to look at Kratos in surprise. The boy was about to speak when Kratos shook his head. "Interesting…I must have a talk with him about this…"

Lloyd smirked; _Looks like Kratos is gonna have to figure out how to distract the Professor long enough for him to get away from her questions._

"Lloyd? What are you doing over here by yourself?"

The aforementioned swordsman turned to face the speaker. "Huh? What do you mean, Genis?" Lloyd wondered, turning from his best friend to where Kratos had been moments before and then back. _Guess he won't have to figure out a way to distract the Professor if she can't find him._

"Weren't you supposed to keep watch last night, Lloyd?" Raine inquired, still agitated by what her and Genis had been talking about. "Don't tell me you've started taking after Kratos."

"Wha—n-no, I haven't seen Kratos all morning, Professor. Really."

"And how am I supposed to believe that when—?"

Suddenly, a small fox-like creature, also known as Corrine, appeared in a cloud of smoke with a message to them that Kratos just got back to camp and is currently aiding his master Sheena in protecting Colette from an ambush. Then, he disappeared the same way he had come.

All three of them hurriedly ran back to camp just to find the battle was already over. The three enemies were laying on the ground unconscious, their clothes slightly singed. "What happened here?" Raine inquired in astonishment as she, her little brother, and Lloyd looked around the campsite. "It looks like these people were scorched and then blasted up into the air by spikes…only to get stricken by electricity."

Colette and Sheena stared at the silver-haired woman in surprise. "How did you know that's what happened?"

"You mean that—?" Lloyd started before being cut off by Raine shouting Kratos' name really, _really_ loudly.

"…You called, Miss Sage?" Kratos' voice sounded sarcastic, but at the same time not so much. The auburn-haired mercenary appeared beside Colette from behind a tree trunk. "I have better things to do than listen to your every complaint," he stated as he turned to walk away.

"Stop right there, Kratos Aurion!" Raine ordered angrily, pointing at his back as she spoke. "You will not move from that spot until you have answered my questions, understand? And you better tell the truth," she threatened.

"Who said I wouldn't?" He challenged as he faced her, his voice aloof-sounding; angering Raine even more than she already was. "What is your first question?"

The professor glanced around at the others for a few seconds before deciding that she would rather not have them around when she questioned Kratos. "Follow me you two," she commanded. "The rest of you stay here." Raine then started off away from camp. Although when she was about to pass Kratos, he stopped her to inquire as to who else she wanted to follow her besides himself. To which she snapped, "Lloyd, of course. He's the only one you have really spoken to this entire time."

If Kratos was surprised at her response, he didn't show it. "Lloyd." He motioned for the young swordsman to come with Raine and him.

"Me? Uh…okay."

The trio traveled along a path in the forest, the swordsmen following their healer companion wherever she happened to go. Once she stopped, Raine spun around and told them to get comfortable since she had many questions.

"Um…Professor Sage? What am I here for if you want to question Kra—?"

"Quiet, Lloyd," Raine told him before asking Kratos her first question. "How is it you knew that the door beneath you would open after Colette accidentally pushed the lever?"

Kratos didn't answer for a moment, apparently thinking of how to word his response. "As you both know, I am a traveling mercenary. Do you not think I would remember such details from my travels?"

Raine bristled. "_I _am the one who will be asking the questions here, Kratos," she stated sourly. "Well then, how do you explain talking to Noishe telepathically? Is that yet another quality you have acquired as a mercenary?"

"No, actually, my…father…had taught me how to speak to animals in such a way."

"For what reason would he teach you that?"

"He never explained his reasons why he did it, but I simply figured it was a defensive technique he had learned when he was at the military academy back in my home town."

"And you were never forced to go to said academy?" Raine inquired.

Kratos shook his head, his eyes closing for the period of time his head was moving; only opening when it stopped. "The entire town was destroyed before I had the chance, but Father taught me certain techniques years before I would have been old enough to go. It was so he could make sure I didn't dishonor him when I grew up."

"…I see…Then why is it you rarely ever stay around us to protect Colette? Her safety should be your top priority if you're being paid to do it. Isn't that what being a mercenary is all about? Taking whatever sort of job you can find for the sake of gaining money?"

Once again, he shook his head in the same manner. "You mustn't stereotype someone for the simple reason of what occupation he has. Instead, you should attempt to see who he is as a person." His companions stared at Kratos in awe, both their mouths hanging open a little. Kratos smirked for a second before reverting back to his emotionless self. "Upon seeing the two of you, one might think you're life-like statues."

Finally, Lloyd shuddered before trying to get his teacher back to her normal self. "Professor Sage." He repeated several time, shaking her as an attempt to get her to refocus. Sighing, Lloyd then shouted, "Look, Professor Sage! Is that the ancient shrine of—?"

"Where?!" Raine searched around them for what it was Lloyd had tricked her with. Realizing she had been deceived by the dumbest student in her class, Raine immediately began to punish him for being a liar. Once she calmed down, Lloyd ran over by the mercenary as he was nowhere near the deranged archeologist. "Ahem, where was I? Oh, yes…What is your reason for speaking, unless forced, to no one except the boy hiding behind you?"

"That is easily explained, Miss Sage. Lloyd and I have been training during the times which none of the others are around. It helps keep us focused on the task at hand instead of being bothered by something, or someone, else." He looked back at Lloyd to see a guilty grin on the boy's face.

_Guess he figured it out…_Thought Lloyd as Kratos turned back to face Raine, the man telling him not to hide from her.

"I won't let her harm you," he muttered loud enough for only Lloyd to hear.

"That still doesn't tell me why you refuse to speak to any of the rest of us, Kratos," Raine insisted. "Only that you are trying to help Lloyd become a better fighter."

Kratos sighed. "I do not refuse to speak to them, Miss Sage, it is in fact the other way around."

"Really? Then why is it Genis and Sheena have both asked me if I knew the answer to that exact question?"

That took the man in purple by surprise. He hadn't thought it would bother the others if he didn't talk much about himself while they were on their journey. "Is that so? Then I may need to apologize to the two of them about that," he commented pensively, his head tilting downward at a slant as he spoke. "I hadn't meant to be rude to your brother or the young ninja." Kratos looked up. "Do you have any more questions for me or may I leave?"

"…Lloyd, you can go back now," his teacher told him. "I have one more question for your mentor before he will be able to join you and the others back at camp. As soon as Lloyd seemed as if he were out of earshot, Raine asked Kratos her final question: "What, if any, relation do you have with him?"

Just barely hearing this, Lloyd stopped walking, curious as to what Kratos' answer would be.

"Who do you mean by 'him'?"

"Lloyd," the woman responded. "Since you haven't been around enough to hear how he speaks of you, I wanted you to know that he looks up to you, Kratos. You should hear him. He says things like 'I can't believe I get to travel with such a great fighter' and 'I wish I could be like Kratos one day'…He really appreciates what you're doing for him, Kratos. I'm not sure if he has ever—"

"I didn't know he thought I'm…he never told me that part. Only how he hates it when I correct him in front of his friends and how I'm a heart-less, conceited old man who doesn't care about him at all…I never knew he said those things about me to the rest of you."

"Is there a particular reason why you're reacting this way, Kratos? Some hidden fact that you know about Lloyd that we don't?"

Lloyd couldn't see Kratos' actions, but he had a guess that Kratos wasn't so stoic at the moment. In fact, he couldn't have been closer to the truth for the elder swordsman sat down on the forest floor at that moment; his face in a state of disbelief.

"Kratos?" Raine's voice wondered. "Are you okay?"

* * *

Heh, heh...end chapter. 


	15. Uh, Kratos?

I'm sooooo sorry I haven't updated this in so long.

I don't own ToS in any way. It belongs to Namco

* * *

Chapter 14

None of the others knew what had happened when Raine, Lloyd, and Kratos left for questioning out in the forest. They were only able to see the aftermath of it all. Raine and Lloyd came walking back beside Noishe carrying the magic swordsman on his back. Seeing this, Colette, Genis, and Sheena ran to meet their friends in the middle. Once they got there, the ninja and mage immediately demanded to know as to why Kratos of all of them was unconscious.

"It's simple, the Professor's questions got to strenuous for him," Lloyd explained, shrugging. The boy, realizing that he had accidentally insulted the healer, then covered his head with his arms. When no reaction came in the form of a physical attack, he decided to peek out from underneath his arms. "Huh? Why are you all staring at me like that?"

"…You used the word 'strenuous'," Raine explained in complete awe. "Correctly at that."

"…What? I'm not capable of talking like you guys?"

"…" Everyone conscious, including Noishe, continued to stare at the young duel swordsman.

"You all know he could speak intelligently if he so chose to," a rough voice remarked from atop the large green and white dog.

Everyone else looked up at him in surprise. "You okay, Kratos?" Lloyd wondered, his voice sounding a little concerned for the purple-clad mercenary. To which Kratos nodded, eyes were glazed over slightly, seeming a little worse for wear.

"Are you sure?" Raine inquired. "You just passed out so suddenly I wasn't sure if I should move you from where you were or not."

"…Really…?" Kratos asked, still a bit shaken. "I don't remember anything that happened since you asked me that last question, Miss Sage."

"I see. Well, excuse me for being curious and just so happening to bring up a touchy subject. I didn't expect you to faint like that."

Lloyd looked on, carefully yet quietly making sure Kratos was okay. "I didn't either," he muttered.

"What did you—? Oh, I'm sorry," Colette began before noticing no one could hear what Lloyd had said besides her.

"That's alright, Chosen," Kratos told her, turning to look a Raine. "We should get moving. We've already wasted practically two days since the Chosen released the Wind Seal. The fate of Sylvarant depends on her releasing the seal at the Tower of Mana."

"That is completely and utterly idiotic, Kratos," the silver-haired healer reprimanded. "We are not continuing on until everyone is capable of moving on his or her own." She then muttered, "You're starting to sound like Lloyd…"

Acting as though he didn't hear what the woman had said, Kratos continued to disagree with what she was suggesting they do. "I would agree with that, but by not releasing the seals as soon as possible—"

"Do you not think I know that?!" Raine demanded, shouting. "I know that the world will continue to decline as long as we don't release the seals, Kra—"

"You need to rest, Kratos!"

Everyone spun around to stare in surprise at the person who had yelled: Lloyd. "…What's with you, Lloyd?" Genis asked. "You've been a little off all morning."

"Wh-what? I'm just interpreting what Professor Sage was saying for Kratos. I know how confusing her speech can get sometimes."

"Disregarding that insult," Raine started, her tone sounding a bit edgy, "it seems to me that not only is your attitude rubbing off on him, Kratos, but so is your way of speaking."

The mercenary dismounted, hiding a smirk from his companions as he did so. He looked directly at Raine, but then towards Colette as he spoke. "I suggest we let the Chosen herself decide what to do…Shall we?"

"Yes," Raine consented, turning to face the young blond girl as well. "What do you think we should do, Colette? Should we rest until everyone is really ready to go or simply continue on without a care if anyone will be a hindrance to our journey?" She glanced meaningfully over at Kratos as she restated their options the way she saw them.

"We-well…" Colette stuttered, turning towards Lloyd. "Why don't you decide for us, Lloyd? You always have great ideas."

The brunette pointed at himself with a finger. "Me? Why should I—?"

"If the Chosen wishes it, you should probably obey, Lloyd."

Lloyd glared at his "teacher" in the way of swordsmanship. "You don't need to put your two Gald into the conversation, Kratos," he remarked angrily.

"He's just saying that it would be a good idea to listen to Colette, Lloyd," Sheena commented, trying to calm the younger boy down.

He then muttered something about "Kratos" and "having to always be right." Sighing, Lloyd finally decided to listen to Sheena and go along with what Colette had asked him to do. "Fine. We'll rest here until everyone, including you Kratos, is able to walk on their own," He decided, scanning his friends' face as he spoke; finally resting on Kratos. "Got it?"

The mercenary nodded, inquiring. "I suppose that last part was directed straight at me?"

"You bet it was." The brunette turned away from the elder swordsman, saying, "Should we reset up the tents, Professor Sage?"

Glad that he had chosen her way, she smiled slightly. "Yes. Let's hurry before it gets dark."

Everyone responded in some kind of positive way as they began setting up camp. Once or twice, Kratos attempted to get up from where he laid near the fire to help them finish faster but someone, like Lloyd, always told him to stay put and not move at all. "You need to make sure you regain your energy before you try to help us. Okay?"

"It already is," Kratos answered. "How many times must I tell you that?"

"Well, ye-yeah, I just don't want you to drag us down when we start traveling again," Lloyd responded, attempting to copy Kratos' way of speech.

"Heh."

Taking the man's silence as an insult, Lloyd's eyes narrowed slightly before he started to laugh loudly. Practically unfazed, Kratos simply stared, stone-faced, at the young dual swordsman. "What?" Lloyd asked, his face shifting from his imitation of Kratos' to a confused look. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You truly are as Miss Sage had said," Kratos admitted.

"Huh? I don't really get what you just said, but I got it," the young teenager nodded.

"Lloyd!" Genis called. "Come over and help us set up. Kratos can take care of himself, remember?"

He sighed. "Okay, I'm coming." Then, he turned to look at Kratos. "Stay here, okay? Heh, you don't have to do any work then," Lloyd advised, laughing.

As the boy left his side, Kratos sighed. "I'm surprised to see how much you're growing to be like me…don't make the same mistakes I did, Lloyd," he murmured, not realizing that, even though the others were at a distance, Colette could still hear him. "How did she find out…?"

Just then, the auburn-haired mercenary heard a voice from a little distance aways. "Are you sure he can't hear us, Lloyd?"

_That's the voice of that ninja…what is she so concerned about?_

"Come on, Sheena, look how far away he is. I doubt even Colette could hear anything he said to me," Lloyd responded lazily.

At that point, Colette gasped almost inaudibly which went unnoticed by everyone except Kratos. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Lloyd," Genis commented.

_Are they all just sitting around talking? _Kratos thought, turning over to look at his companions. _No…they're all still setting up camp. Seems they've forgotten that I was laying here. So much for "making sure he stays in one place."_

"Well, come on," Lloyd urged. "I'm always the one saying how I—"

"Yes, Lloyd, we know that."

"But, Raine, why do we have to—"

"Because—well, because Lloyd said so, I suppose," she answered her brother, her voice a bit unsure of herself. After her response, Lloyd's laughter could be easily heard throughout their entire camp.

"What is with you, Lloyd?" Genis asked as his best friend continued to laugh.

"Professor Sage said you guys have to listen to me, so why not you go first, Genis?"

The young mage sighed in defeat. "Okay…He is a strong fighter, a good person to have fighting beside us other than against us, and a wonderful teacher."

Lloyd's laughter ceased at that moment. "What do you mean by 'teacher'?"

"Kratos and Colette have been teaching me how to read angelic language ever since we had found the Book of Regeneration."

"But that was weeks ago, wasn't it?" The brunette teen asked, startled at the information his best friend had told him about. Genis nodded. "Then how much can you read by now?"

"Well, I've only learned a little bit so far. Kratos has been busy with something most of the times when I ask him if he can teach me…But it's amazing, Lloyd," the mage told him excitedly. "Did you know, that in angelic, your name would be Lloydan? It means 'special' or 'chosen'."

"Don't you think that's a little weird since you've known the Chosen of Regeneration for almost your whole life?" Sheena commented.

Getting excited himself, Lloyd wondered, "What does Irving mean then?"

Genis shook his head. "Irving isn't in the angelic language, Lloyd. It's Dwarven, remember?"

"Oh…right. Then what about your name? That sorta sounds angelic."

"Actually, my name comes from the angelic word 'Jinus', which means 'hard worker'."

"Well that sure explains a lot," Raine commented as she set down the final block of wood on a pile beside the blazing fire. She then sat down atop a blanket, her attention turned towards her little brother. "Continue, Genis."

The boy nodded. "Yes, Raine," he responded. Soon after, someone else muttered about how they weren't in school anymore. "I heard that Lloyd," he remarked before continuing on talking. "I haven't learned names that much, but I think I can sort of read and speak it well. From what I've learned, anyway."

"Meaning he's awesome at it," the young dual swordsman muttered, dropping down beside his teacher.

"Not necessarily, Lloyd," Raine responded softly, making sure Genis couldn't hear her. "He could be telling it how he's actually doing. But the only way you would be able to find out the truth, if you don't believe him, would be to ask Colette."

"It she doesn't lie to me that is…" the young boy murmured, almost incoherently.

"What was that, Lloyd?"

"Hm? Uh…nothing, Professor Sage."

Sheena tapped the boy on his shoulder. "Aren't you going to ask the rest of us?"

"Oh, right," Lloyd remembered, courtesy of the ninja girl. "I guess you're next, Sheena."

"Okay…well, from what I can tell, he's really used to traveling by himself by the way he only talks to some of us."

"Mainly Lloyd."

"Shut it, Genis," Lloyd semi-ordered.

The black-haired ninja nodded. "That's true, Genis, but what about your lessons with him and Colette? Does Kratos ever mention Lloyd during those?"

Genis shook his head. "No, but then…Colette usually teaches me how to do things. Kratos just tests me on what I have learned by giving me texts on the Ancient Kharlan War that I have never even seen before. He—"

"Kratos has ancient sources on the Kharlan War?! Fascinating! I must ask him about them at once!"

"Raine!" Genis exclaimed, attempting to keep his older sister from jumping up and bothering Kratos when he was trying to rest. "Don't ask him about it now; Kratos is still trying to regain his energy!"

The two siblings paused in mid-action just for a few moments before Raine broke free from her brother and sprinted over to Kratos. Seeing she was coming, the mercenary quickly closed his eyes and faked sleeping. Although, he was soon shaken awake by the sliver-haired professor. "Kratos. Open your eyes right now, Kratos," she commanded, sighing. "I know you're not asleep, Kratos. I can feel your energy and it had the same activeness as anyone else here. Except Lloyd, anyway."

"I resent that comment," Kratos muttered as he sat up, crossing one leg underneath the other bent over the ankle.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Raine inquired before realizing who she had said that to. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say that out loud, Kratos? I didn't mean to say something like that in front of one of his relatives."

If Kratos was startled by her remark, which she was hoping he would be, he didn't show it. In fact, his face hardened. "I don't see the reason for you to make such a statement, Miss Sage. And even if I were related to Lloyd, why do we have different last names? Explain that to me."

"We-well…you might be…cousins…or something…" she stuttered, taken back that he had actually responded instead of not saying a word. "I don't know, you tell me. If you're not related to him, then why is it he is the only one you talk civilly to?"

The mercenary gave her a cold stare. "Are you insinuating that I don't speak much about myself to any of you?" She nodded confidently. "Why should I? I am merely here, as you have said countless times before, to protect the Chosen and earn a living. There is no reason for me to associate with any of—"

"That may be, but you do 'associate' with Lloyd. Why is that?"

"He needs to be trained to correctly use a sword, or in his case, two swords."

"Yes, but there are rarely times when he returns to camp worn out from training. Would you mind explaining that to me, Kratos Aurion?"

"That is because, he does not get worn out since he has trained himself not to get tired easily or quickly. It's a simple matter of will power, Miss Sage," he explained evenly, trying not to allow any sort of hint that he was surprised she thought he and Lloyd were related to show through onto his face. _As is hiding one's emotions._

"Yes, but this is Lloyd we're talking about. He's not one to be able to do something like that that easily. I don't know how he seems to you, but I have taught him back in Iselia ever since he was five years old. So who would you say has had the more—" Raine began to demand Kratos answer up until the point a hand was place lightly on her shoulder; the owner of that hand standing behind her.

"Professor Sage, it's almost time for lunch," the boy who had been their topic of conversation interrupted her, mid-speaking.

The pair of adults looked up at the young swordsman standing beside them, waiting for a response. Raine nodded. "Yes, it seems it is." She then turned to look over at Kratos. "Are you well enough to join us?"

Getting to his feet, Kratos said nothing and simply began walking over towards the rest of their group. "After lunch…" he stopped for a moment. "Lloyd."

"Yeah? Wha-what is it?"

"We train," the mercenary told him, glancing back at the teenager who then nodded in agreement.

"Alright," he answered, taking a few steps forward to catch up to Kratos.

The three of them then strode over to where Sheena and Genis were cooking something together. Seeing them, Colette greeted, "Did you have a nice rest, Mr. Kratos? I-I mean, Kratos?" The purple-clad man nodded. "That's good. What about you, Lloyd? Are you okay now?"

"Huh? Wha-what? What'd you mean, Colette? I didn't get hurt, remember?"

Colette giggled happily. "I know, it's just you were so worried about Kratos that I thought you'd be glad to see that he was okay."

Kratos' head turned to gaze at Lloyd. "You…were worried about me?" he asked softly so no one but Lloyd could hear him. The boy looked back up at Kratos and nodded slightly. "Heh."

* * *

_**Clang! **_"Stop blocking and attack me!" Lloyd shouted angrily, swinging his swords in an attempt to strike his opponent. Even though he tried as hard as he could, Lloyd couldn't get in one single attack. "I mean it, Kratos, hit me!" He demanded, ceasing his attacks as he cringed, waiting for the elder swordsman to strike.

"Open your eyes, Lloyd." The boy did as he was told and found the tip of Kratos' blade at his throat, the man's face completely devoid of emotion. "That was a very foolish thing to do," he chided, sheathing his sword.

Once he had, Kratos was forced to lift his head slightly in order not to get cut by the brunette's own sword. "So was that," he commented cockily, his eyes questioning Kratos as to the reason he did something so stupid while his opponent still had his weapon drawn. "You knew I still had my swords out yet you still did that. Tell me why."

The mercenary sighed. "Was it not over when I had you at sword point? That's what we agreed to is it not?"

Lloyd put then put his pair of swords away, his spirits dampened. "You don't have to say it like that. Can't I have some fun and win once in a while?"

"Not if you don't earn that victory," Kratos replied evenly. "Just don't get too cocky like that or you'll never win a battle against any enemy that knows how to fight at all."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know that already. You don't have to keep reminding me." As the younger swordsman spoke, Kratos took a few steps back and drew his sword; confusing him so very much. "Wha-what are you doing, Kratos?"

"Fight me as best you can."

"What are you—Ah!" Lloyd shouted, moving out the way of Kratos' 'sonic thrust' attack with barely enough time to catch his breath. "What in Martel's name are you—Whoa!"

"…" Still confused, Lloyd didn't even unsheathe either of his swords until he saw Kratos pause for a few minutes; a small, brown spell circle forming beneath him. "Take this. Grave!"

"What the he—Kratos!" Lloyd started as silver-grey spikes came shooting up from the ground beneath him. Being too distracted by the man's actions, Lloyd was hit several times by the attack. Falling to the ground, Lloyd landed roughly on his back. "Ow…What happened?..." he murmured, sitting up to see Kratos casting another spell; this time an electrical one. "Oh, yeah. He wanted me to fight him…but how can I win?"

"Take this. Thunder Blade!" Kratos shouted, a large light purple circle appearing around Lloyd. Then, a larger-than-life sword wrapped in electricity came crashing down upon the boy.

"What are you doing, Kratos?! I'm your friend, remember?!"

"I refuse to stop unless you really try, Lloydan," Kratos' voice whispered from behind the brunette. "Do you understand?" Lloyd turned around to face Kratos, but was then hit in the face with a 'light spear' from the mercenary's sword. He got knocked off balance and back down to the ground.

Then suddenly, a voice cried out, "Please leave him alone! Angel Feathers!" A swirl of pink, crystal-like feathers came whirlling towards Kratos. Running towards Lloyd, the blonde girl shouted, "Lloyd! Lloyd! Are you okay?" she wondered, kneeling down beside him. Her head turned to look over at Kratos. "What have you done to him, Mr. Kratos?"

"I had challenged him to a battle, Chosen. He was getting too cocky and needed to be shown that he was not invincible," Kratos explained, walking over to Lloyd and Colette. He reached down a hand to help the young brunette to his feet. "Are you alright, Lloyd?"

Lloyd nodded, not looking at Kratos. His right hand slowly rose to until it was the same height as his own head.

_**Slap!**_

"Lloyd!" Colette exclaimed, startled at what he had just done.

"…" Kratos, who had been on the receiving end of the slap, too was surprised at Lloyd's actions. But not only was it strange that Lloyd had slapped him, his face also showed emotion.

"Finally!" Lloyd commented exhaustedly, his clothes looking a little worse for wear from the elder swordsman's attacks. "I didn't know what it was gonna take to get you to actually show some kind of human feelings."

"…What are you—?"

"Shut up, Kratos!" Lloyd ordered. "Do you know what you could've done to me if you hadn't been holding back?! I could've died if you had calculated my physical strength to be more than it actually was. Or-or my arm could've gotten paralyzed or something! Did you know what it was you were—?!"

"Quiet, Lloyd." Kratos started walking away from where the two of them had been training. "I would think that, being a mercenary, I would be able to gauge another's strength."

"Yeah, but—"

"Please, Lloyd, you need to rest if we're going to start traveling again tomorrow," Colette pleaded.

"Alright. Let's go back."


	16. NEVER Cross the Professor

Yet another little time skip. I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ToS. If you really think I do, then you owe me a wii.**

* * *

Chapter 15

Many, many miles away from the Chosen and her friends, a man with a long, blue ponytail stood beside his desk as he analyzed a pair of maps. Suddenly, the door to his right slide open and another man, he had dark, brown hair that spiked up on the top of his head.

"Lord Yuan! I have just received a report that the Chosen's group has reached the Tower of Mana and, if it's correct, are currently speaking to a winged man called Remiel."

Yuan turned toward the speaker. "Very good, Botta. Now, gather five of your best men and make sure they do not make it to the Tower of Salvation. We can not have the Chosen reach her final destination."

The man named Botta nodded in consent. "Understood." He then left the room through the same door he had come.

"So the Chosen has finally reached the Tower of Mana," Yuan mused, a slight smirk on his face. "Interesting…what will you do now, Kratos?"

* * *

After finally meeting up with Remiel inside the Tower of Mana, the Chosen and her companions began their journey to the Tower of Salvation where Remiel had told Colette was the next place for her to go. Reaching the outside, Lloyd, thinking that since they had released another seal Colette would be unstable, tried to catch her as she fell to her knees, but he ended up missing. "Professor Sage! It's Colette's Angel Toxicosis…"

"I see," Raine responded. "Let's rest here for today."

Concerned, Colette tried to talk but found out that she was unable to. "… ?…"

"What's wrong, Colette?" Lloyd asked.

Seeing as everyone else had no idea, or made it seem like they had no idea, of what was going on, Kratos commented, "…I would assume she's lost her voice." His remark caused everyone else to stare at him in shock.

"What?!" Genis demanded.

"!!" Colette's face showed that she didn't like the thought of not being able to talk.

"…Come on, we need to set up camp," Lloyd decided. "Can you watch Colette, Kratos? I'm not sure if she should try to help us like this."

"!!" Colette gasped.

"I'm sorry, Colette. I don't want to take a risk you fainting while you're trying to carry something or stuff like that," he explained. Colette's face fell. "Does that mean you're sorry? Don't be, okay? You were just suddenly turned into an angel. You can' help that."

* * *

Later that night, everyone was sitting around a campfire when Sheena stood up. "Everyone, I have something need to tell you," she announced.

"Huh?" Lloyd asked. "What is it, Sheena?"

"I want to explain to everyone why I was trying to assassinate Colette."

"All right, we're listening," Raine told her. "Tell us about your homeland. A land that doesn't exist in this world."

Sheena took a step back, a hand unconsciously coming up to cover her mouth. "You mean, you knew?"

Raine shook her head. "No. I simply put your clues together, piece by piece."

"Clues?" Lloyd's head tilted to the side in his confusion.

"For example, you said it yourself that, if Colette regenerates Sylvarant, your world wouldn't be saved; which must mean you aren't from Sylvarant. You also said that there were still unicorns on 'this side' when we went to Lake Umacy."

"Oh…so I gave myself away, huh? But you know, Raine, it's really a shame that your intellect's being wasted here. You're right. My homeland is not here, not in Sylvarant."

"But where do you live?" Genis inquired, thoroughly enjoying learning something new.

"I live in a world opposite this one known as Tethe'alla."

"Tethe'alla? You mean you live on the moon?" the young mage wondered, stating amazedly at Sheena who then laughed slightly.

"No, of course not. My world isn't on the moon," she responded "Tethe'alla is a world, like Sylvarant, that's parallel to this world. But…even I really don't understand the specifics, but there is another world that lies entwined with Sylvarant, as shadow is to light. That's Tethe'alla…my world."

"Two entwined worlds?" Raine asked, she too getting excited.

"The two worlds lie directly adjacent to each other," Sheena explained. "They just can't see one another. Our scholars say they exist on shifted dimensions. Anyway, the two worlds can't see or touch each other, but they do in fact exist next to and affect each other."

"What do you mean, 'affect each other'?" Lloyd wondered, still very much confused by all of the information Sheena was telling them.

"In other words, they vie for the supply of mana. They each need the mana the other world has. When one world weakens, the mana from that world flows to the other. As a result, one world is always flourishing, and the other waning. Sort of like an hourglass."

Standing up, Genis begins to ask. "Wait, so, right now Sylvarant is declining, so—"

"Tethe'alla is flourishing, am I correct?" Genis then sat back down as everyone turned from looking at where Sheena stood over towards the man who had made the comment. Seeing this, Kratos stood up and walked away out into the darkness that the campfire didn't reach.

"Okay then, would you mind continuing your explanation, Sheena?" Raine asked after the short, awkward silence Kratos had left in his wake.

"Why do you think he left?" Sheena wondered, still facing the way Kratos had gone while everyone else, unknown to Sheena, turned back to face her.

"Don't worry about him okay?" Lloyd told her. "He's a mercenary," he continued as he got to his feet, "he can handle anything that crosses his path. Trust me."

"Okay, but…where are you going?"

"I'm just gonna go and try to find some more firewood," he answered just before leaving the ring of firelight.

"But…don't we already have enough firewood?" Sheena wondered, her voice sounding as if she were confused.

Genis and Raine sighed. "It's only an excuse to go talk to Kratos, Sheena," Genis explained.

"Oh…okay then," she responded, sitting down again. "The regeneration process is simply the reverse of the mana flow. Right now, kinda like Kratos said, Sylvarant's mana is going from this world to my world."

"Tethe'alla." Sheena nodded in agreement with Raine's statement. "So why are there two worlds to begin with?"

"Well, I'm not really sure how there are two, just that there are two different worlds. You see, since Sylvarant's mana is flowing into Tethe'alla, Sylvarant is in decline. Without mana, crops won't grow and magic becomes unusable. If there is no mana, the Summon Spirits that protect the world alongside the Goddess Martel can't survive in Sylvarant either. As a result, the world slips even further down the path of destruction."

"Then the Chosen's world regeneration is actually the process of reversing the mana flow?" Raine asked.

"Exactly. When the Chosen breaks the seal, the mana flow reverses, and the Summon Spirit that governs the seal awakens. I was sent to prevent the world regeneration from happening," Sheena replied, nodding again. "When I came here, I broke through the supposedly impassable dimensional fissure for the sake of protecting Tethe'alla.

Once again standing Genis asked, "In other words, to assure the decline and destruction of Sylvarant?" Then, seeing as Lloyd was no where to be found, Colette got up and walked over to Genis.

"You can say that," Sheena countered, "but your journey of regeneration is also an attempt to destroy Tethe'alla. We're both doing the same thing."

"It's hard for me to believe all of this," the professor admitted.

"I'm the proof," Sheena told her confidently. "I possess summoning arts that have been lost from this world." She looked over at Colette who was staring at her wit h a sad expression on her face. Sheena bit her bottom lip before saying, "…please don't look at me like that, Colette. I know that wasn't your intention. I don't know what I should do either. I came here to protect Tethe'alla, but this world is impoverished and everyone is suffering. But if I allow the world regeneration to occur, then Tethe'alla will become just like this." She gestured with a hand to the surrounding area. "I just don't want that to happen."

"But right now, you're helping us, right?" Genis asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can just abandon Tethe'alla!" she answered, her voice strained. "I…I don't know what to do. Isn't there any other way? A way for Sylvarant, Tethe'alla, and Colette to all be happy?!" She demanded, standing up.

"Yes, I want to know!" A teenager's voice shouted. "Why won't you tell me, Kratos?!"

The four of them turned to stare off into the darkness from where the voice had come. "…Have you considered that perhaps nothing that convenient exists in the real world?" Raine questioned, truning back to the others.

"The best thing we can do right now is to save Sylvarant from what's happening right now, Raine," Genis pointed out. Colette then lightly took Genis' hand and, using one of her fingers, began writing something in the palm of his hand. "What? Oh, you're trying to spell something out, aren't you?" Colette nodded before continuing writing. "What if…we don't…re-gen-er-ate…the world…and just…defeat the…Desians?"

"Although we succeeded in destroying a ranch, we cannot possibly eliminate all the Desians," Raine responded calmly. "The mana will eventually be exhausted."

"Is…mana…really…that…im-por-tant?" Genis asked for Colette and then answered her question himself. "I suppose only magic users and scholars worry about it. But mana is even more important to life than water. Without it, the land will die. Mana is the source material which composes everything. At least that's what Raine's taught me."

Raine nodded. "It is…Unfortunately, the Giant Tree of ever-flowing mana in fairy tales doesn't exist in the real world. We live by chipping away at the limited amount of available mana. Why do you think the ancient magitechnology was lost?"

"Because mana disappeared from the world," Sheena concluded.

"Correct," the professor agreed. "Magitechnology consumes large amounts of mana. Sheena, if things continue the way they are now, Sylvarant will eventually lost its mana just as it lost its magitechnology, and be destroyed."

"I'll…try…asking…Remiel…if…there's…a way…to save…the two…worlds," Genis read.

"If it doesn't work out," Sheena started, facing Colette. "I may have to kill you after all."

"Sheena!" Genis exclaimed. He looked down at his hand and began reading what Colette was writing. "When…that time…comes…I…may…fight back…because…I love…Sylvarant…too."

Sheena nodded. "…I understand. You intend to become an angel, no matter what, don't you?"

Just at that moment, a voice could be heard a little ways away from where they were. "Can you not do that to me ever again, Kratos?! You have no idea how surprised I was when you just passed out like that!"

They all turned to stare at the point where both swordsmen came walking back, side by side, Kratos looking a little shaken. "Lloyd…?" Genis whispered as the brunette sat down beside him. "What's with—"

"That is none of your concern, Genis," Kratos interrupted.

"What the—? How could you—?" The young mage started; surprised that Kratos could hear him. He sighed. "Never mind, I—"

"I think we have had enough for one day, everyone," Raine interrupted, getting to her feet. "Come, Genis. It's time you went to sleep."

"But, Raine, I—"

"Miss Sage is right," Kratos concluded, reaching over and setting a small block of wood into the fire. "It's about time you all got some rest. We will be nearing the Tower of Salvation soon and the Chosen needs her strength."

"Uh…Colette wants to know who's going to be that night watch," Genis commented from beside the silent Chosen.

"Huh? Why didn't you just—" Lloyd began to ask in slight confusion as he turned towards the blond Chosen. "Oh that's right. You can't talk can you, Colette?" Colette shook her head in response. "Sorry, I forgot about that for a second."

"I shall be the night watch," Kratos volunteered, settling down on the edge of the lighted ground. "The rest of you get some sleep."

"But Kra—" Lloyd began to protest before the mercenary turned to him, a cold gaze on his face.

"I said I will be the night watch, Lloyd. Go to sleep."

"But—"

"That's enough, both of you," Raine intervened. She looked from one swordsman to the other and back, sighing. "That's it. You both get some rest and I'll keep watch."

"I hardly think that that is—" He was cut off by the professor's icy glare as well as the young brunette's urging.

"Uh…c-come on, Kratos," Lloyd nudged the elder swordsman away from his teacher. "We're going to bed now, Professor Sage, see?"

Once they were a fair distance away from the sliver-haired woman, all of the other travelers except Colette gave the auburn-haired mercenary advice that he would be better off not forgetting any time soon: **Never**, get the professor so angry that she glares at you like that **ever **again.


	17. Kratos' Childhood

I would like thank all of my reviewers. Especially those who have kept with me for this long. 17 chapters...wow.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own ToS. If you think I do, you owe me enough money to buy myself a wii.**

* * *

Chapter 16

After he had left the others inside their camp, Kratos sat down in front of a tree and leaned back against the trunk as he took a short dagger from his waist with his right hand. He grasped the sheath with his opposite hand and relieved the blade from the confined space of its sheath, sighing heavily as he did so.

"Hey, Kratos, what's—ah!" Lloyd started just before the elder swordsman pointed the tip of the dagger right at his throat.

"You should probably stop doing that," Kratos commented dully, sheathing the dagger and setting it on the ground on the opposite side of him than Lloyd was. "What are you doing here, Lloyd?" He asked. "Don't you think that you should be spending this time with the Chosen?"

"Well, yeah, but I just have this feeling that I won't be able to be with either you or Colette after we get there. And I figured I would spend the last days I have near you guys with you, Kratos."

"Why is that?"

"Why? Uh…because you're like family to me." Kratos' expression changed slightly as Lloyd told him that. "I mean, you're like a big brother. You're what, 28?" Kratos nodded, not saying anything since he knew where Lloyd was going with his next sentence. "So that would make you too young to be my dad since I'm 17. Which, if you really were my dad, would mean I was born when you were…11. And we both know that's not true, so there's no possible way you could be my dad," Lloyd reasoned, sitting down beside Kratos. The boy chuckled slightly, continuing on. "But wouldn't it be something if you were? That would be so cool! I would have my dad for my role—" he stopped abruptly, his head turning away from the auburn-haired man. "Forget it. You're not my dad anyway, so it doesn't really matter."

"What were you going to—?"

"Kratos! You're hurt!" Lloyd informed the mercenary as he got up and then knelt beside Kratos. "Wh-why haven't you used your healing arts yet?"

"It's nothing you need to worry a—"

"Nothing I need to worry about?! Of course I should worry, you're my friend!" Lloyd reached over and took Kratos' wrist in his hand in order to examine the wound.

Releasing himself from the young boy's grasp, Kratos repeated himself. "It's nothing for you to worry about, Lloyd. Listen to me."

Feeling his eyesight going blurry, he closed them and allowed his whole body to rest against the tree trunk.

"What's wrong, Kratos?"

"Heh, I apologize, Lloyd."

"Wha—? What are you—?"

"I had told you before that I was already fully recovered, correct?"

"Yeah…what about that?" Lloyd wondered, having somewhat of an idea of what Kratos was going to tell him. The expression on his face turned from being worried to surprised that Kratos would do what he thought he had. "You…lied to me, didn't you?" Kratos faintly nodded just before losing consciousness. "Kratos you—you…can't hear me, can you?"

"…"

"Figures as much," Lloyd muttered to himself. He looked at Kratos' face. "At least it doesn't look like he's in pa—so much for that." The boy paused, seeing his mentor cringe slightly. _Can he even control his body's reactions when he's like this?_

Kratos' left hand had picked up the dagger at his side and held it out in front of him, as if gesturing for Lloyd to take it, just before dropping it to the floor as Kratos cringed.

_What's going on here? _"Kratos? Are you okay?" Lloyd wondered, trying to shake the man awake. Although when he tried, a vision of a young boy with short, auburn hair sitting on a forest floor; his eyes closed, appeared in front of Lloyd's own eyes. Letting go out of surprise, the image of the boy disappeared from Lloyd's vision. "Whoa! Who was…?" He looked down at Kratos' face, but saw the face of the young boy instead of the mercenary's. "Oh, so that was Kratos when he was a little kid? Hmm…what would happen if I…?" Lloyd murmured, slowly reaching out towards Kratos' arm.

Right when he contacted Kratos, Lloyd felt an invisible hand pull him into some kind of different dimension. Landing softly on the ground, Lloyd saw the young Kratos get to his feet. His auburn eyes scanning the area.

"**What do you want from me?" Kratos shouted, his voice sounding much higher than it usually did. His hands clenched at his sides. "You know I'm not going to be able to get out of here on my own, Caleb."**

**A slightly older boy's voice could be heard off in the distance as he laughed. "Yeah, I know that, Kratos, but your father told me to toughen you up. His exact words were 'he's going to be in the army whether he likes it or not.' It looks to me like you're going to have to fight people sometime, so…"**

**Kratos sighed. "I know, I know but what good is telling people I'm a pacifist if I'm forced to fight anyway?"**

**Caleb's laughter rang throughout the forest where Kratos stood. Then, a boy about the age of thirteen walked out of the shadows behind Kratos. His hair was about the shade of the sky, but only a little darker blue and it went down just past his shoulders. "Well, at least you won't have to go to school for at least another two or three years," he pointed out, tapping Kratos on his left shoulder.**

**Kratos spun around to face Caleb. "How did you get behind me? I thought you were…" he pointed forward and over his right a little.**

**Caleb sighed, his eyes closing half way. "Don't always believe what you hear, Kratos. I told you that before, didn't I? You need to sense where an opponent is, not trust your ears to find them."**

"**But, Caleb, I—"**

"**No, Kratos. There are no objections to what I'm telling you. If you want to be able to survive in battle, you've **_**got**_** to listen to me. I've been to the academy your father's planning on sending you to."**

"**Yes, I know that, but I am still against fighting people—"**

"**That's just it, Kratos. The 'people' you're talking about aren't people. They're stinking half-elves! They want to kill you, so why are you so against fighting them? Because they're half-human? Who cares? 'People' like them shouldn't even exist much less live in our society."**

"_That's not true!" Lloyd shouted, angry at Caleb. "Half-elves can live with us. It's only some like Desians that deserve to die, not all of them!"_ **Neither of the younger boys even noticed that Lloyd had spoken. **_"What's going on here? Why can't they hear me?"_

**Kratos' eyes narrowed. "You're not a Summon Spirit, Caleb. Don't go around saying who can and can't exist in this world."**

_"Where am I…?"_

**Caleb turned his back on the young Kratos and began walking away from him. "Good luck finding your way out of this forest, Kratos." Then, he disappeared into the shadows, leaving Kratos by himself. "You're the only Aurion male I have ever heard of who didn't like fighting."**

"**So what?!" Kratos demanded, stomping on the ground with one foot. "Just because I say killing anyone is wrong that doesn't give you any reason to taunt me, Caleb! Caleb!" He called out. Then, realizing he was all alone in the forest, Kratos dropped down onto the ground. "Dang it," he muttered. "Now what am I going to do?" The auburn-haired boy turned all around in an attempt to find a way out.**

**Suddenly, he heard the sound of a creature coming closer and closer. Then, a constant tapping kept hitting his fingers. Looking down, Kratos saw a small, green and white bird standing beside him, pecking him. The bird stopped, its head tilted up. "Tweet?"**

**Kratos sighed, moving his hand away from the bird. "Leave me alone, okay? I don't have time to deal with you. I've got to get out of this forest before dark or my father's going to kill me…I mean that in a literal sense."**

"**Tweet! Tweet!" the bird chirped, hopping up and down in one place.**

"**What?" Kratos asked, confused. "Oh! You live here, don't you? So you can find a way out of here."**

**Following the bird, Kratos was able to get out of the forest much faster than he would have by himself. Reaching down, Kratos thanked the little bird and started towards his house. Once he arrived, Kratos opened the door and found himself face to face with a man who had short, neat, auburn hair.**

"**He-hello, Father," Kratos greeted uneasily.**

"**Do you know how long it took you to get out of that forest?" His father questioned. Kratos shook his head. "You started at six in the morning. It is now almost seven at night and the sun is already setting."**

"**I'm sorry, Father," Kratos apologized, bowing his head. "I had sort of gotten lost, and then Caleb—"**

**_SMACK! Thump!_**

"**Don't blame Caleb for your mistakes, understand?"**

"**Yes, Father," Kratos replied, a hand slowly rising to his cheek. Getting up from the ground, he walked slowly past his father and just barely started to run to the stairs when his father called his name. Kratos paused, turned to face his father, and saw the same little bird that had helped him in his father's hand.**

"**Is this your, Kratos?"**

**Beginning to shake his head, Kratos stooped and nodded. "Yes, Father, it is."**

"**Then take it." His father strode up to him and dropped the bird into Kratos' outstretched hands. Then, he continued on and walked to the door at the end of the far end of the hallway.**

**Hurrying up to his room, Kratos, who was unknowingly being followed by Lloyd, shut the door behind him and locked it. He held the bird in his hands as he examined it. "Are you hurt, little bird? You don't look injured."**

"**Tweet!"**

**Kratos smiled softly. "Okay, do you mind living here with me? My father already thinks you are, so…hm, what's your name?"**

**The little bird's head tilted to the side. "Tweet?"**

**Young Kratos sat down onto the carpet, deep in thought. He looked down at the little bird that was running around in a circle around him. "You're a pretty lucky bird, you know that?" The bird stopped right in front of Kratos and looked up at him. "So…how about the name 'Noishe'? It means 'lucky' in a very old version of the elven language. Do you like that name?" The little bird, appearing to be able understand Kratos, nodded. "Okay then. From this day, er night, forward, your name shall be Noishe."**

"**Tweet!" Noishe chirped happily.**

"_Noishe?" Lloyd wondered. "Isn't that the same name as my—but this bird can't be Noishe. That's just too weird…Kratos had a pet bird named the same thing as my dog."_

Suddenly, Lloyd felt a spark of electricity surged through his arm that was contacting Kratos' shoulder. "What the—?" he asked, letting go of Kratos. "Is everything back to normal now?"

"…"

"Kratos is still asleep?" Lloyd mused, astounded. _Shouldn't that shock have gotten him too? _"Would I go into his memories again if I—whoa!"

**Lloyd was once again in Kratos' bedroom, but both Noishe and his owner had gotten older by a few years. Instead of being a short, skinny eight year old, Kratos was now a slightly taller and stronger, twelve year old. And Noishe, who was no longer a little bird, was now half the height of Kratos, his wingspan double that.**

**Kratos was rushing around his room, cleaning it up. "Can you believe that, Noishe? Father said he has something to give me."**

**The boy ran as quickly as he could down the stairs and into another room across the hall. When he entered, Kratos came into an empty room. He was about to call out to his father when a voice behind him told him to turn around and go outside.**

**Once he got outside, Kratos saw his father sitting on a bench out near their garden. "Father?"**

"**Come here, Kratos," his father ordered, not facing his son. Following his father's commands, Kratos hurried over to his father's side. Kratos' father turned to face his son. "As you know, you will be sent to the same military academy that I went to as a boy next year. So, close your eyes and hold out your hands."**

**Kratos did as his father told him and soon felt the weight of an object fall into his hands. Opening his eyes, Kratos looked down and saw a dagger in his hands. His face, looking up at his father, was filled with amazement. "But, Father, this is yours."**

"**Yes, the first weapon I have ever owned. And now I am passing it onto you."**

**Thrusting it away from him, Kratos protested. "But, if it's yours, I-I can't accept this."**

**_SLAP! Thunk._**

**His father back-handed Kratos' face, causing him to drop the dagger out of surprise. "You will take this dagger and keep it. Understand? I will not have a son who believes that being a pacifist is better than a dictator."**

"**Yes, Father."**

"**Good. Now…"**

Lloyd had let go of the mercenary of his own free will before the boy's father could finish talking, thoroughly disturbed by what he saw and heard Kratos' father say. "What kind of childhood is that? He murmured, rubbing his temples in frustration as he attempted to get the images of young Kratos out of his head. The brunette teenager stared at Kratos' blank face, the man's eyes still closed. "How can you take all of that and not be affected?" Suddenly, Lloyd got shoved forward by a strong gust of wind and lost his balance.

_Lloyd could hear absolutely nothing, but the back of his neck was burning. Turning around, he saw a whole town on fire._ _"What the—? Where am I?"_

"**Caleb! Father!" A teen boy's voice called out. "Where are you?" A blur of auburn flashed past Lloyd as Kratos was stopped by a green and white bird's beak clamping onto the boy's collar. "Stay out of my way, Noishe," he commanded, trying to break free. Slowly losing his will, Kratos fell to his knees. "I can't believe I…I'm the only one that survived, aren't I, Noishe?"**

**Noishe nodded, releasing his master's collar when he saw Kratos wasn't going to rush into the flames. 'Are you alright, Master Kratos?' He asked as he crouched down so he's level with the teenager.**

**Kratos nodded. "I'm…fine, Noishe," he responded slowly. The teen stood up, his fists clenched, the dagger his father had given him in his left hand. "Let's go, Noishe," his voice was stone cold and his eyes, formally filled with tears, were now staring ahead of him, empty and without emotion.**

'**Master Kratos?' Noishe called out, following his owner's steps pace for pace. 'Are you sure you're okay?' He worried. 'I've never seen your face like that before…'**

"**I'm okay, Noishe," Kratos assured. "We need to find the nearest weapons shop so I can buy a belt for this dagger that'll fit me. Father's is too short."**

'**But, Master Kratos, you're only thirteen,' Noishe reasoned. 'You don't think they'd just sell one to you do you?' Kratos nodded. 'That's insane! Master Kratos, as your elder I forbid you to—'**

"**Quiet, Noishe. I doubt you're going to be able to defend me by yourself if we get into trouble."**

'**At least get on my back and I'll fly you there,' Noishe suggested. 'It would be a lot faster.'**

**Kratos stopped walking, his bird companion following suit. He sighed, turning to Noishe. "Fine, but only because it's faster than walking."**

"_You can get up now, Lloyd…"_

"_Huh? Wha-what?" Lloyd wondered._

"_Get off, Lloyd."_

"_What? Who is—?"_

"_It's me, Kratos."_

"_Kratos?" Lloyd asked, turning to look at the teenage Kratos._

"_Not that Kratos. Turn around."_

_Lloyd spun around on his heel and came face-to-face with Kratos as he appeared in the present time. "What? How are you here, Kratos? And why didn't you do this sooner?"_

"_I have just realized you were here myself," Kratos admitted._

"_Do you know why that is? Why you—Who is that, Kratos?" Lloyd wondered, pointing to where young Kratos was talking to a young girl about his age with pale green hair._

"_Let go right now, Lloyd."_

**"Have you any idea where the next town is?" she asked. "I need medicine for my little brother."**

"_Now, Lloyd."_

"_Why?"_

"_Just do what I said."_

_Lloyd sighed. "Fine…"_

The brunette teen sat up and moved a little ways away from Kratos. He lowered his gaze to the earth between them. "I'm sorry, Kratos," he apologized.

"For what?"

"For bothering you when I knew you wanted to be alone," Lloyd explained, getting up and starting to leave

"Lloyd." He turned around to see his auburn-haired companion standing only about three feet away from him.

"Yeah? What is it, Kratos?"

Kratos took a few steps toward Lloyd, stopping right beside him. "Don't die." He then continued on walking until Lloyd's voice questioned:

"Why do you always do that?"

Kratos turned his head to look back at Lloyd. "Do what?"

"Confuse me. You always say stuff that I don't understand and get me all confused and then tell me not to die! I just don't get it."

"Do you really want to know why I do what you said?"

"Yes, I want to know!" Lloyd shouted.

Kratos sat down where he was standing moments before and motioned for Lloyd to do the same. "My reason is because…this journey is dangerous and no one knows what will happen in the future."

"…Is that really why?" The young swordsman wondered. Kratos didn't answer, so he took it as a no. "It's not, is it? Why won't you tell me, Kratos?!"

Kratos slowly stood up. "I can't tell you the exact reason I…" He started; walking away from Lloyd looking like a zombie, but then stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Kratos!" Lloyd exclaimed, hurrying to his feet and running over to Kratos. "What the heck?" he muttered, poking the mercenary's shoulder. "Why isn't anything happening?"

"Stop that, Lloyd." Kratos, ignoring Lloyd's offers to help him up, stood and continued on walking back to camp. "Hurry up, Lloyd, the others are still talking about the two worlds and we need to get back before it's time to go to sleep."

"But, Kratos," Lloyd started as he jogged up to Kratos' side. "Can you not do that to me ever again, Kratos? You have no idea how surprised I was when you just passed out like that."

When the two swordsmen came to the campsite, their traveling companions were staring at them. "Lloyd…?" Genis whispered as the brunette sat down beside him. "What's with—"

"That is none of your concern, Genis," Kratos interrupted.

"What the—? How could you—?" The young mage started; surprised that Kratos could hear him. He sighed. "Never mind, I—"

"I think we have had enough for one day, everyone," Raine interrupted, getting to her feet. "Come, Genis. It's time you went to sleep."

"But, Raine, I—"

"Miss Sage is right," Kratos concluded, reaching over and setting a small block of wood into the fire. "It's about time you all got some rest. We will be nearing the Tower of Salvation soon and the Chosen needs her strength."

"Uh…Colette wants to know who's going to be that night watch," Genis commented from beside the silent Chosen.

"Huh? Why didn't you just—" Lloyd began to ask in slight confusion as he turned towards the blond Chosen. "Oh that's right. You can't talk can you, Colette?" Colette shook her head in response. "Sorry, I forgot about that for a second."

"I shall be the night watch," Kratos volunteered, settling down on the edge of the lighted ground. "The rest of you get some sleep."

"But Kra—" Lloyd began to protest before the mercenary turned to him, a cold gaze on his face.

"I said I will be the night watch, Lloyd. Go to sleep."

"But—"

"That's enough, both of you," Raine intervened. She looked from one swordsman to the other and back, sighing. "That's it. You both get some rest and I'll keep watch."

"I hardly think that that is—" He was cut off by the professor's icy glare as well as the young brunette's urging.

"Uh…c-come on, Kratos," Lloyd nudged the elder swordsman away from his teacher. "We're going to bed now, Professor Sage, see?"

Once they were a fair distance away from the sliver-haired woman, all of the other travelers except Colette gave the auburn-haired mercenary advice that he would be better off not forgetting any time soon: **Never**, get the professor so angry that she glares at you like that **ever **again.


	18. The Secret of the Chosen's Journey

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own ToS or any of it's characters/events.

* * *

Chapter 17

For about two to three more days, the Chosen's group traveled throughout Sylvarant. When they neared the mountain city of Hima, Kratos suggested they stop there and rest for the night.

"And why should be rest here?" Sheena inquired confusedly.

"This is the closest town to the Tower of Salvation," Kratos replied. "That and we will need to find a way to reach the tower by air instead of land. Is there something wrong, Miss Sage?"

"How did you plan on reaching it if we can't walk there? None of us can fly, remember?" Raine questioned him.

"Do you not recall the man we met when we first came here? He owns dragons that we could ask to use in order to reach the tower."

"Yeah, but that's if he will let us borrow six dragons," Genis commented. "And I doubt he'll let us for free."

"There's no sense in not resting anyway, right, Colette?" Lloyd asked, looking at her. Colette nodded her agreement.

"That settles that," Kratos remarked as he began walking up the mountain side toward Hima. "If the Chosen says we stay here, then we stay here." Everyone except Raine followed his lead.

"Come on, Raine!" Genis called back when he reached the top of the upward climb.

"Alright, alright," she muttered, making her way to the mountain city.

* * *

When they arrived at the mountain top, the owner of Dragon Tours was looking out at the Tower of Salvation. "Hm? Ah! My friends from before," he greeted. 

"We are not friends," the purple-clad mercenary informed him coldly.

"…Well then, what can I do for you all?" the man asked, a little frightened by Kratos' tone of voice.

"Would you allow us to—?" Raine started before Lloyd interrupted her.

"We want to ride the dragons."

"Great!" the man responded happily. "You have the honor of being the very first customers of the Dragon Tour! Let's see now, six people, so… Here's a special price available only today! It'll be 6,000 Gald."

No one spoke for a few minutes until Genis' uneasy voice could be heard. "That's a lot of money…"

His sister's head turned to look at him. "But it can't be helped, Genis. We have to get to the Tower of Salvation so Colette can regenerate the world."

"Wa-wait a moment…what did you say?! Are you the Chosen's group?!…"

"Yes, we are."

"Oh, my!" he said in alarm. "No, no, no, this won't do at all! I can't possibly take money from the Chosen! Please put that money away!"

The young mage gave the dragon owner a sympathetic look, his tone flat. "We haven't taken it out yet."

" In that case, I will have three, high-classed dragons prepared for you and they will be ready tomorrow morning."

"Three?" Kratos questioned. "Are you saying that each of these dragons can carry two people?"

"Y-yes, they can," the man answered, still slightly intimidated by Kratos.

"We'll be back tomorrow morning then." Rain turned and started walking away, soon followed by her companions.

"Wa-wait!" the owner called, but only one person heard him.

"What is it?" Kratos inquired, turning back to face the other, shorter, man.

"I've heard that the area around the Tower of Salvation is dangerous, so… If you could just…I mean, my cute little dragons are—"

"I understand, so stop babbling," Kratos cut the man off and began to leave the mountain top. "You needn't worry about you precious little dragons," he told the dragon owner; his voice, even if the one he was speaking to couldn't notice it, sounding a bit sarcastic. "I will inform my companions of your concerns." He then went down to where his companions were near the only building in Hima.

* * *

"Finally," Raine muttered, seeing Kratos coming towards them. "What took you so long, Kratos?" 

"It's nothing."

Deciding that it was in her better interest not to respond to him, Raine turned to face the others. "This looks like our last night before we reach the Tower of Salvation. Is everyone ready?"

Sheena nodded while, at the same time, Genis said, "I can't believe I'm going to be able to see Colette regenerate the world."

"We're finally down to the last seal," Lloyd announced. "Is anyone as excited as I am right now?"

"Well, let's split up for tonight," Raine proposed. "But don't go outside the village. Understood?" They all agreed before going their separate ways; everyone, except Lloyd, Raine, and Colette. "You wanted to thank me?" The professor asked, seeing Colette looking straight at her. "Even knowing what your future holds, I'm in no position for you to be grateful to me." She then walked by Lloyd and Colette, her face downcast.

"What's with her?" Lloyd wondered, looking over at Colette. "Oh, sorry, Colette, I kind of…forgot about that." The blonde Chosen smiled at him happily. "Hey, uh…do you want to—?"

"Colette! Lloyd!" Genis called out, running towards them. He was almost to them when the young mage tripped and fell face-first onto the hard mountain path. The silver-haired boy got hurriedly to his feet and continued the rest of the way. "You guys have to see this," he told them, his voice sounding like he was really excited about something. Following Genis, Colette and Lloyd went over to the edge of the mesa that the town of Hima was on.

"Wow…Look at this, Colette," Lloyd breathed, amazed at the sight that was before his eyes. "Just think, you're going to be the one that saves this land. Don't you think that would be cool to see? This whole place, looking more beautiful than it does now, after you regenerate the world."

Genis turned toward his best friend. "Lloyd!"

"What, Genis?" Lloyd wondered. "What did I say?"

"Colette is suffering and all you can say is—huh?" Colette had walked up to the young mage, smiling at him. She motioned for him to give her his palm. "It's okay? What do you mean it's okay, Colette? I mean that, it doesn't matter what happens as long as our world is regenerated."

"Yeah, but we still have today, right?" Lloyd asked the younger boy.

At that moment, Sheena appeared in a cloud of smoke beside Colette and Genis. "Colette, Raine wants to speak-write with you," she announced. "Follow me." Colette then turned and waved a silent farewell to her two oldest friends and then left with Sheena.

"Hey, Lloyd." Genis' voice was soft as he looked out at the large, grassy, flower-filled plain.

"What is it, Genis?"

"The Tower of Salvation is so close now. We've come quite a long way."

"Yeah…what are you trying to say?"

"I guess…" he paused for a moment, trying to figure out how he would word his answer. "That it's at a time like this that I stop and think how stupid I've been."

Thoroughly confused, Lloyd asked, "…Why?"

"Because I'm not even sure we're doing the right thing. I mean, sure Sylvarant will be saved, but then Tethe'alla's people will be the ones suffering instead of us," the silver-haired mage confessed. "I don't even know if the way things have turned out is good or bad.

"…No one knows that. The ones who think they do are the stupid ones."

"You think so?" Genis wondered, looking up at Lloyd.

"Definitely," the brunette responded, nodding confidently.

"But I feel stupid not knowing what to—"

"Don't think bad of yourself just because you don't know if what we're doing is right. I think it's a good thing that you have second guesses," Lloyd told him, beginning to laugh. "If you didn't, I'd question your sanity."

"…That's a lot coming from you...You say some cool things every now and then. Thanks, Lloyd."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lloyd demanded.

Genis shook his head. "No, never mind, Lloyd. Forget it, okay?"

"Sure," The brunette answered, shrugging. "I'll see you later, okay, Genis?"

Lloyd left the mage where he stood as he walked in the direction where Sheena was sitting near the edge of Hima's boundaries. She was leaning up against the sign that said "Welcome to Hima: The Village of Adventurers." The ninja girl looked up as Lloyd neared her. "Oh, hey, Lloyd. Why're you coming over here? Don't you think it would be better if you were by Colette right now?"

"No." Lloyd shook his head in disagreement, sitting down beside his newest companion.

"Sylvarant will be saved tomorrow," Sheena murmured.

"Huh?" Lloyd asked, turning to look at her in confusion.

"Tomorrow, this world will be saved, and mine will start to look like…well, like this." She gestured to the surrounding area as she spoke.

"…What are you gonna do about it?"

"Good question," she responded, laughing slightly. "The only thing I can do is believe in the Chosen," Sheena decided. "The Chosen from this side seems to be trustworthy and all."

"What's that mean? Is there a Chosen you can't trust?

Sheena sighed in annoyance. "Tethe'alla's Chosen….I can't stand that guy."

"I see. So Tethe'alla has a Chosen, too?"

"Two worlds. Two Chosen," the female ninja confirmed, sighing. "If there really is a goddess, why did she make a world like this?"

"Yeah, no kidding," Lloyd remarked, chuckling a little. "I want to kick her for doing this."

"Heh, seriously," Sheena started, "I wish I could do that myself." Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. "Well, I'll see you around sometime, okay, Lloyd?" She stood up, starting to take a few steps toward the inn doors. "Maybe you could come back with me to Mizuho."

"Yeah, later, Sheena." Lloyd sat there for a few minutes, just watching the sun go down. He looked around Hima and saw a familiar shadow slowly moving up the hillside. Rising to his feet, Lloyd followed the shadow and eventually saw it's owner standing near a gravestone. The young dual swordsman took a few steps forward as he silently walked to the man's side. "Kratos?" He spoke uncertainly, a hand tapping the auburn-haired mercenary's shoulder.

"So, your journey is finally coming to an end," Kratos told him once the man decided it was better to talk to Lloyd than ignore the young teenager.

"This isn't the end I hoped for," Lloyd admitted.

Without his consent, Kratos' voice accidentally slipped into a sort of teasing tone. "Really?" He questioned. "It's the journey you started by clinging to the Chosen. This was to be expected."

"…Clinging to the Chosen?" Lloyd wondered, confused by Kratos' comment.

"Don't you remember?" the mercenary asked, his voice reverting back to the way it normally was. "It was you who said we have the Chosen on our side, the savior who will regenerate the world."

"Yeah, that's right," Lloyd nodded. "I said that. And that's why I have to protect her," he explained.

"If relying and depending on the power of the Chosen at the most crucial time is what it means to protect her, then the meaning of the word 'protect' must have changed significantly from my understanding," the purple-clad mercenary replied, seeming to be relaxing around the boy. "And now the Chosen is trying to resolve everything by sacrificing herself."

"…What are you trying to say?" Lloyd inquired.

"Don't make a mistake, Lloyd."

Lloyd's face twisted in a confused way. "I don't quite get it, but I got it." He nodded confidently. "But hey, if I make a mistake, can't I just do it over again?" The brunette asked, shrugging.

Kratos crossed his arms across his chest, in response. "…Humph. 'Do it over'," repeated the younger swordsman's words. "If it's something you can do over again, then…feel free." The man shrugged, saying his last words as he walked by Lloyd.

Being left by himself near the gravestone, Lloyd slowly walked down the mountain path. Nearing the inn, he saw Raine sitting on the steps that lead to the inside of the inn. "Hey, Professor Sage? Can I ask you something?"

Raine sighed lightly, softly laughing at her student's question. "You just did, Lloyd," she replied. "Two of them."

"Huh?" Lloyd awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, yeah…I guess I did, huh? Heh, there's another one."

"Yes," she agreed, nodding. "But if you want to ask me a fifth question, go right ahead."

"A fifth question? …I don't really know what you mean, but I get it." The teen told her. "Anyway, why does Colette have to lose her senses and all that just to become an angel? I know you know."

"…You don't need to worry about that right now, Lloyd. It'll all be over soon enough. Now, go see Colette. This is her last night."

"Last night? What so you mean by that?"

"…It's her last night as a human," Raine explained sadly.

"Professor Sage, you're a scholar, right? Can't we do anything?"

"…Don't you understand yet? You're not too bright. It's because I'm a scholar that I'm fascinated by Colette as she continues to transform into an angel."

"You can't be serious, Professor Sage."

"You think so?" She asked his, attempting to catch the boy off guard by her questions.

"Yeah, but—"

"Now, go to her. She'll like your company right now."

Lloyd, deciding to listen to his adult female companion's advice, walked over to where Colette stood near the edge of the cliff, looking out at the grassy plains before her. Hearing Lloyd coming up behind her, she turned around and smiled at him.

"Hey, Colette, can I talk to you for a bit?" Colette nodded. "Okay then, you can write. Come on, this way." Lloyd and Colette walked back up, past where he and Kratos had spoken, and stood near the edge of the hill and watch the Tower of Salvation from a distance. "The world regeneration…it's almost time." Colette tapped Lloyd on his shoulder, asking for his hand. "…I'm sorry?…" He looked up at her, wondering, "Why are you apologizing?" Lloyd then continued to read on. "…This is the end, and yet I can't even speak. I know that's weird?…" Colette nodded. "You dork, that doesn't matter. No matter what happens to you, you're still you. Even if you become an angel. Even if you become like Marble. I won't ever think you're weird. Ever," he explained calmly. "Anyway, I'm the one that has to apologize." Colette's head tilted slightly, seeming puzzled. "Even though I promised I'd make you that gift before our journey ended, I kept thinking we still had a ways to go. I never even got close to finishing it." Continuing writing on Lloyd's palm, Colette spelled out her answer for Lloyd to read aloud. "…I'll wait forever? Even after I become an angel, I'll keep on waiting. You can give it to me any time. Okay. This time, I'm really going to make it. No matter how long it takes." He paused. "Can I ask you one thing?" Colette nodded, listening. "Are you sure you won't regret this? Are you sure you want to become an angel?" Lloyd then began reading Colette's answer, "The truth is, I'm a little scared." He paused for a second. "Heh, yeah…I would be, too." The brunette then continued reading. "But if giving up my life as a human means that Sylvarant will be reborn, then it's almost like my life is spreading out to fill the entire world. When I think about it like that, I'm okay." Looking up from his hand, Lloyd sees Colette with a slight happy look on her face. "…You're strong, Colette."

A little while afterwards, the two of them just stood there. "…The wind's pretty cold. Let's go back to the inn," Lloyd offered, having forgotten that Colette couldn't feel anything. "Ah…sorry. That's right, you can't feel it." Colette smiled at him and then turned to start down the hill, leaving Lloyd by himself. Frustrated by his feeling of helplessness, Lloyd spoke aloud, angry with himself. "…Dang it! Isn't there anything we can do?!"

* * *

It was early next morning and, while Colette, Raine, Genis, and Sheena were still asleep, Lloyd lay awake anxious about their fight in what he thought was just a few hours. He heard the sound of a door closing. Sitting up, Lloyd looked around the room. "Was that Kratos? Where's he going this early in the morning?" Getting up, the teen followed Kratos out of the inn. 

Nearing where the mercenary stood, Lloyd faintly heard him tell Noishe something. "I have things I must do. In my place, I need you to—"

Suddenly, a caped man with blue hair appeared to Kratos' left.

"Kratos, look out!" Lloyd shouted in alarm. The auburn-haired mercenary turned toward the man, unsheathing his sword as he did so, and stabbed the blue-haired man's side. He then disappeared, a small object falling to the ground as he left. "Kratos, are you okay?" Lloyd inquired, rushing over to his elder swordsman. Sheathing his sword, Kratos thanked Lloyd for his warning. "Ah, it was nothing. But who was that?"

"I would imagine he's an assassin. He managed to get away, but I gave him an injury he'll not soon forget," Kratos' tone was grave as he spoke.

"…I have a feeling I've seen him somewhere before," Lloyd told him, his face contorted as he tried to remember where he had met a man with blue hair before.

Kratos paused, lost thought, then remarked, ".…Yes, perhaps. Let's get back to the inn. Everyone's probably up." He then started towards the inn.

"Yeah…"

Ceasing his footsteps, Kratos stood a few paces behind the younger swordsman, not facing him. "…Lloyd."

"Hmm?" The boy wondered, turning to face Kratos. "What is it?"

His face was cold, hard stone as he gave his advice. "…Don't die."

"Wha? Yeah, okay. What's up all of a sudden?"

Turning his head to look back at his young companion, Kratos' features slowly melted into a soft gaze. "…Don't worry about it." He then turned back around and traversed the rest of the way back inside the inn.

Lloyd turned to Noishe, his voice questioning. "How can he tell me not to worry after saying something like that? I just don't get him sometimes…Wha? What's this?" Lloyd approached the small object that the assassin had dropped as he disappeared. Looking at it closer, he realizes that it was a golden ring with the letters "y" and "m" engraved into the inside of it. "What's this? There's some strange letters carved into it."

* * *

After Lloyd returned to the inn, everyone was awake by then, he was asked by Raine where he had gone. "Didn't Kratos tell you?" he wondered, closing the door behind him, looking over at the mercenary. 

"No, he didn't. Explain, Lloyd."

"We-well, I thought he would've 'cause he told me that I had gotten stronger since the last time we trained."

"Really?" The professor asked, not appearing to believe Lloyd's answer.

"He speaks the truth, Miss Sage."

Raine and her pupil turned to face the speaker. What did you say, Kratos?" She demanded.

"I said he speaks the truth, Miss Sage," Kratos repeated, his voice a single tone. "Lloyd and I had gotten up early this morning to train before we left for the final seal. He asked me yesterday if I would help him hone his swordsmanship abilities."

"Alright then," Raine responded, not bothering to question Kratos excuse, even though she thought he was lying.

"Shall we go back then? We told him we would be back in the morning."

"You don't need to remind me, Kratos," Raine snapped, turning her back on him so she could call to the others. "Sheena, Colette, Genis, we need to hurry and return to the mountain top."

"Okay!" The ninja and mage responded. Instead of talking, Colette simply nodded.

* * *

Before going all the way to the top, Raine asked everyone if they were ready since the tower would most likely be their final battle. 

"I'm ready," Lloyd confirmed.

"Me too," Genis chimed happily in as the two females, other than Raine, nodded in agreement.

"I, too, am prepared for what we may encounter ahead," Kratos added in, his tone ice cold.

"Okay. Then let's go, everyone." Leading the way, as usual, Raine was the first to see the three dragons that had been prepared for them. "So how are we going to ride them?"

"Ah! I've been waiting for you all," The owner of the dragons greeted them. "Please board the dragons in pairs."

"I will ride on the same dragon as the Chosen," Kratos decided immediately. "Protecting her…is my job." Everyone glanced at Kratos in surprise. Ignoring them, he asked Colette if she were ready to go.

The silver-haired woman nodded. "Alright then, who do you want to ride with, Lloyd?"

"Me and Genis—"

"It's 'Genis and I', Lloyd," both Kratos and Raine simultaneously corrected him. The two turned to look at each other in surprise. "Why do you care if he doesn't use correct grammar, Kratos? I thought Colette was your first priority." Raine inquired.

"That is none of your concern, Miss Sage."

Lloyd gave them a look as to say: yeah, yeah, know… "Anyway, **Genis and I** decided last night that we would ride a dragon together. So I guess you and Sheena are gonna be on the last one," he concluded, shrugging.

"Then let's –oh, may the Goddess Martel curse his soul," Raine began before noticing that Kratos and Colette had already left for the Tower of Salvation.

"I have a feeling that he's disappeared without telling somebody before he did so a lot," Sheena commented.

"He had better—"

"Let's go, okay?" Lloyd asked impatiently, mounting one of the two dragons that were left.

"He's right." Genis followed Lloyd as the brunette had done as he climbed aboard the same dragon behind Lloyd. "We can't let them get too far ahead of us, Raine."

"Then we need to leave as fast as we can," Raine decided, mounting the third dragon. Once she did, Sheena followed her onto it.

* * *

Arriving at the tower, Genis and Lloyd dismounted their dragon. As they did, they saw Raine and Sheena near the opened entrance of the Tower of Salvation. "What? Why is it—?" 

"It looks like Colette and the others have already gone inside," the professor told them, cutting Lloyd's question short(1). "Let's hurry and go inside."

The four of them entered the tower to find that they were surrounded by dozens among dozens of floating rectangular box-like objects. "What are these things?" Sheena asked.

"They're coffins," Genis murmured audibly.

"They must be…all the Chosen that failed the world regeneration up until now."

"You mean if Colette fails, she's going to—?"

"I'm afraid so, Lloyd," Raine answered. "Hurry. We need to reach Colette as quickly as we can. There's no telling what could happen to her in this place."

The four companions continued on, taking a warp up to another floor. Taking the only path, they cam upon a circular, double-platform area. Kneeling on the lower floor was Colette, Remiel floating above on the top floor directly in front of her.

"Now, my daughter, release the final seal! In doing so, you will complete the final sacrifice of your human existence—your heart and your memory. By doing so of your own free will, you will become a true angel!"

"…What?!" Sheena demanded.

Lloyd couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Sacrifice her heart and memory?!" He asked.

"Colette's going to forget about us?!" Genis inquired, sounding just a little bit more than concerned about what was going on.

From where she was behind them all, Raine remarked, "Colette's human life will now end, and she will be reborn as an angel."

Turning to face her, the brunette swordsman wondered. "Professor Sage, what is he talking about?!"

" Lloyd, I'm sorry," the silver-haired woman replied sadly. "I promised Colette I wouldn't say anything. Colette will give up her life in order to regenerate the world. Becoming an angel...means dying."

"That's not quite correct," Remiel commented, having not had a choice of whether or not to listen to the conversation going on below him. "The Chosen's heart will die, and her body will be offered to the Goddess Martel. By sacraficing her body, Colette will revive the Goddess. This is the true nature of the world regeneration! The revival of the Goddess Martel…is the revival of the world itself!" He corrected, happily.

Slightly taken aback by the angel's words, Lloyd stuttered, "That…that's…"

Taking a few steps past her companions, Raine questioned the blond man. "…Lord Remiel, we have heard that a world known as Tethe'alla lies parallel to Sylvarant."

"That is not for you to know," Remiel replied, his tone defensive.

"You kept it a secret because it is true, correct?" She continued to question him.

"From whom did you learn of it?" Remiel inquired susppciously.

"Can't Cruxis make both worlds peaceful?" Sheena wanted to know, raising her voice to enter the conversation.

Glancing down at Colette, Remiel answered, "…If that is what the Chosen desires, she can lend her power to Cruxis by becoming an angel. Once the Goddess Martel is revived by the Chosen, the two worlds will surely achieve peace, just as the Chosen wishes." Colette, since she was unable to talk, gasped. "Is that true, you ask? You know why you have come here."

"…" Colette's face fell.

"You can't…are you really planning to die?!" Sheena protested. "Colette!"

Upon hearing her name, Colette turned to face her friends.

"Colette, stop!" Lloyd pleaded. "If you sacrifice yourself, your friends who love you…and your family…and… …and me…we'll all be sad. It will be the same as sacrificing all of us!" Colette merely stares silently at him. Lloyd was about to runs towards Colette when Genis restrained him. "Let me go, Genis!" He ordered angrily.

"I don't want anything to happen to her either!" He told his best friend. "But what else are we supposed to do?! The people of Sylvarant are suffering, too!"

"But—" Lloyd started before being cut off by the angel.

"The sacrifice of one single person, the Chosen, will save the world. Are you saying that you would choose the Chosen's soul over the entire world?" Remiel asked him indifferently. "Now, Colette. Come join your father."

Colette turns back around and approaches Remiel as glowing magic circle emanates underneath her. Lloyd released himself from Genis and approaches Remiel as well.

"Wait! Remiel! Is there really no other way?" He questioned. "Colette's your daughter. Surely you don't really want her to die, either!"

The angelic man stared at Lloyd in amusement. "…My daughter?" He chuckled slightly. "Don't make me laugh. When I came down to play the role of guardian angel, you inferior beings just started calling me her father on your own," his voice was taunting the young brunette.

"Wh…what?…" Lloyd inquired, thoroughly confused by this point.

"I merely placed the Cruxis Crystal upon this sacrifice, who was selected to become Martel's vessel," the blond angel explained.

"Colette!" Lloyd called out, approaching her.

Turning to face Lloyd, Colette's voice assured him. _"Lloyd, it's okay, I realized what was going on. Every time I met Remiel, I felt…that he was not my real father. …But still, for some reason, I still feel like I want to cry."_

"Colette! If you realized what was going on, then why—?"

"_You can hear my voice? I'm so happy! I'll be able to say goodbye to you in the end."_

Upset at the problem before him, Lloyd apologized. "Colette…I'm sorry! I couldn't save you…I'm so sorry! I promised I wouldn't make another mistake, but it looks like I have again…"

"_No. Thank you, Lloyd. Because of you, I was able to find the courage to protect the world. Because of you, I was able to find the strength to live these sixteen years to the fullest. So please…"_

"Colette!"

"_It looks like it's time… Goodbye…"_ Colette's angel wings appeared and she flies up with her eyes closed. Colette learned the skill Judgment and then opened her eyes, revealing red pupils.

"Hahahahaha! I've done it! It's finally complete!" Remiel announced, laughing like a maniac. "Martel's vessel is finally complete! With this, I shall become one of the Four Seraphim! And gain one of the things I have desired my whole existence; sparkly wings!" As he spoke, his eyes glowed a light shade of green; signifying that he was jealous of whomever he had been talking about.

Everyone stared in shock at the deranged angel, all of them speechless except Sheena. "Wait just a minute! What are you gonna do with Colette?!" She demanded.

"He's going to take her to heaven," Raine explained, still slightly disturbed. She turned to her little brother and lowered her voice. "Is that how I—?" Genis nodded, not vocally responding. "Oh…"

"You'll pay for this!" Lloyd shouted angrily. "Cruxis, the angels, the Goddess Martel…it's all a big lie, isn't it?! Let her go, now!"

Calming down, his eyes reverting back to normal, Remiel refused. "That, I cannot do, for she is Martel's vessel. This is Martel's new body which took years to complete. I have no use for any of you! Be gone!"

"I won't let you do that to Colette!" Lloyd shouted, charging at Remiel. The boy was fighting one-on-one with the angelic man, trying to win as fast as he could, when Remiel was abruptly hit by about five spikes made purely out of earth, bursting from the ground beneath him.

As the spikes hit Remiel, one by one, a voice could be heard shouting, "It's pancake time! Grave!"

Lloyd heard yet another voice, from somewhere out in the distance, use the same attacks simultaneously with this best friend. The boy looked back at Genis, his face questioning.

"You didn't think you were going to fight him by yourself, did you?" the young mage asked. Lloyd shook his head after a pause.

"Good," a young woman's voice remarked from beside Lloyd. "Serpent Seal Pinion!" she shouted, using her rune-engraved cards to strike the fallen angelic man.

After some time, Remiel fell to the ground; struggling to survive his injuries. "Impossible…how can an angel, the ultimate being, lose to a group of humans?"

Lloyd, Genis, Raine and Sheena looked up at Colette. Rushing toward her, Lloyd called out, "Colette, come back to us! I'm going to restore you back to your normal self! I promise!" Colette didn't respond. "Colette…have you really forgotten me?"

"You're wasting your breath as well as time. Not only did she lose her memory, but she has lost the soul to listen to your words. Now the Chosen is merely a puppet standing before death's door."

"What?" Lloyd asked, looking up to the higher platform to see Kratos standing beside Colette. "Kratos? Where have you been? What did you—?"

Because of her decision, the Chosen no longer has the heart the listen to you," Kratos explained solemnly. "The Chosen desired the regeneration of the world and chose this path herself. By the summoning of the Chosen to Derris-Kharlan, the seal will be broken and the regeneration will be complete."

"Kratos?" Lloyd asked, surprised with the one man he had put his faith in the most. "…What are you talking about?"

"It is what you wanted as well," Kratos commented coldly. "We will take the Chosen as the new body for Martel."

"What are you talking about?! Kratos…answer me!" The young swordsman demanded, glaring up at Kratos.

"Lord Kratos, have pity on me," Remiel pleaded, struggling to get to his feet. "Please…lend me your aid."

His former companions looked up at Kratos in shock. "What?" Sheena asked.

Kratos merely ignored the ninja girl's question. "Have you forgotten, Remiel? I was once of the inferior race…a human. Does the ultimate being seek help from that which he despises the most?

"But, Lord Kra…tos…" Remiel began as he slowly died. Dying, the angelic man fell to the ground; unmoving.

"Move out of the way," Kratos ordered.

Lloyd and his friends stared down at Remiel. Slowly raising his eyes to look up at his former companion, Lloyd questioned, his voice shaking slightly, "Kratos…who are you?"

Kratos' body then began emanating a stange light and a pair of sparkly blue angel wings sprouted from his back. "…I am of Cruxis, the organization that guides this world," he explained, gravely. "I am one of the Four Seraphim, sent forth to keep close watch over the Chosen."

Genis' mouth dropped open. "Kratos is an angel, too?!"

"You deceived us!" Sheena accused, pointing at the angel above her.

"Deceived?" Kratos' voice seemed to be questioning her. "If the Chosen merges with Martel, she will awaken, and the world will be saved. Is that not what you wanted?"

"Once her body is taken by the Goddess of Martel, Colette will truly die."

Kratos shook his head slightly. "No, Miss Sage, she will be reborn as Martel."

"…Dang it, Kratos!" Lloyd shouted, outraged. "You think I'm going to let you do that?! Colette is our friend!" The boy charged, Kratos, his pair of blades unsheathed as he prepared himself for a very difficult fight.

* * *

Cliffie!!! Ha-ha! 

(1) Did anyone besides me notice that when they say "Colette and the others" they just mean Colette and Kratos? I just wanted to point that out.

See the littel button below that says Review? If you would, do what it says.


	19. Yggy?

Been how long since I updated this? Two months? And I left off in the middle of a battle, didn't I... **_grins uneasily_** whoops.

* * *

Chapter 18

As Lloyd charged forward, Kratos unsheathed his sword and blocked the boy's strikes easily. "Don't hold back!" he ordered angrily, striking Kratos with a "Sonic Sword Rain" attack.

"Uh!" Kratos grunted, getting repeatedly hit by Lloyd's dual swords. "…"

"Huh? Why are you—ah!" The brunette began before being thrown back by a "Hurricane Thrust" from the mercenary.

Landing right on his back by Raine's feet, she quickly healed him with a single "First Aid." "Be careful, alright?"

Lloyd got to his feet, nodded at her, and then ran to help Sheena battle Kratos. Although right when he reached the two of them, he saw Sheena fall to the ground at Kratos' feet. "Sheena!" He shouted, quickening his run as he went over to her. The boy kneeled down beside her, checking if to see if she was okay.

"Don't worry about me, okay?" Sheena whispered, trying as best as she could to stay conscious. "Just save Colette." Suddenly, a large electrical sword came crashing down upon both of them, causing Sheena to black out. "Sorry, Grandpa…" She muttered.

"Professor Sage, do you—?"

"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Raine answered, blocking Kratos' onslaught of attacks.

"Stay away from the professor, you traitor!" Lloyd shouted, running directly at the angelic man. "Rising Falcon!"

Quickly spinning around, Kratos blocked Lloyd's attack with his shield while stabbing Raine with his sword. The professor fell to her knees, "I can't believe…I…" she murmured, falling to the ground.

"Give up and I will not have to harm you or Genis, Lloyd," Kratos suggested, blocking the teen's sword strikes.

"Never," Lloyd retorted sourly, his eyes filled with burning flames as he glared at his former friend and traveling companion. "Why did you betray us? Why did you betray me?! I-I trusted you, Kratos…" He demanded, shouting his first two questions and then his final statement was barely more than a whisper.

"I call upon thee in the land of the dead, to unleash thy fury of thunder…" Genis started, a purple spell circle surrounding him.

At the same time, a brown spell circle began to encircle Kratos. "Take this. Grave!"

"Indignation!" The young mage got his attack off just in time. For right after he shouted, the five earthen spikes came up and struck him one at a time. After the last spike, Genis fell unconsciously to the floor, his eyes closed and face blank.

"Genis!" Lloyd rushed over to his best friend and knelt down beside him. "Genis." He attempted to shake the younger boy awake, but it wouldn't work.

Then, a shadow fell over the pair of boys. Turning to face the man behind him, Lloyd looked up into the face of the angel who had done everything to his friends: Kratos Aurion. "You can still give up," he offered one more time. "Give up, and you will be able to see Colette once more."

"What…have you done?!" The brunette teen demanded, rising to his feet and beginning to attack Kratos mercilessly. With each strike, Lloyd's face became more and more impassive. "You traitor," he spat venomously. "Why did you act like that? How did you get me to trust you so easily? Was all of that, everything you said, a lie? Did you just say that to me so you could get close to me? Why did you target me when you knew I hated you?" Lloyd's questions came as quickly as his sword strikes. He kept demanding answered, not allowing his opponent a chance to speak, since he knew that Kratos could persuade his thoughts with but a sentence or two.

Suddenly, one of his two swords flew out of his hand as he was knocked to the ground. The teen watched it fly back and land, point down, beside where Genis laid. Turning back, Lloyd found the tip of Kratos' blade at his throat. "Give up yet?" The man inquired. He stepped back to allow Lloyd to stand up, but didn't give him the time to run over and retrieve his second blade.

Realizing his predicament, Lloyd grasped the only sword he had left and faced Kratos. "I will **never **give up, Kratos," he responded defiantly.

"Then I have no choice. You cannot live any longer if that is your choice."

"Then so be it. Super Sonic Thru—" Before he could finish, Kratos shoved him down to the ground by hitting the boy in his stomach; his only sword slipping out of his hands and sliding across the floor towards Sheena. Slowly getting up, Lloyd's head tilted up at his former companion.

Kratos was about to finish Lloyd when he dropped his sword as rays of light streamed down a little ways behind him. "I guess not even you could bring yourself to fight against such an opponent, could you?" A strange man's voice questioned, making it sound like a simple comment as a winged figure floated down to rest just slightly above beside Kratos.

Kratos knelt down in front of the, seeming superior, angel. "Lord Yggdrasill."

Barely regaining consciousness, Genis asked, "Who's that?"

"Another angel?!" Sheena wondered, surprised.

The man Kratos had addressed as "Lord Yggdrasill" turned towards the brunette teenager who was still on the ground. "Are you Lloyd?"

Lloyd slowly stood up, keeping his eyes on both of the angels. "Give me your name, and I'll give you mine!"

The angel had long, blond hair and aquamarine eyes. His clothes were mainly all white with gold lining all around it. They were skin tight and the collar was a deep v-neck. Lloyd's question caused Lord Yggdrasill to chuckle despite the current situation. "People need not introduce themselves to a dog," he taunted, his tone as though he thought himself superior to Lloyd.

"What did you say?!" the boy demanded, clenching his fist.

Lord Yggdrasill sighed. "Fine, I shall tell you my name, wretched human," he replied. "I am Yggdrasill: Leader of Cruxis as well as the Desians."

"So you're saying that you control what the Desians do?" Lloyd wondered, slightly lost.

"Yes, I—"

"If I may, Lord Yggdrasill," Kratos hesitantly interrupted.

"Silence, Kratos," Yggdrasill commanded, turning just a little to face the auburn-haired angel.

"As you wish," he replied, somewhat regretfully.

Yggdrasill turned back to face Lloyd and his friends, all of which had stood up during the time in which Yggdrasill had had his back turned to them. "What is it you want with the Chosen, little brat?" This comment caused the angelic mercenary to cringe for just a second, but a second nonetheless.

"Give Colette back you—"

"Silence, human," Yggdrasill ordered.

"Lloyd." Genis tapped the older boy on his shoulder. "Don't worry; Sheena and Raine are keeping an eye on Yggdrasill. Here."

Lloyd turned to face the young mage who was holding out both of his swords to him. "Thanks, Genis."

"Are you ready yet, brat?" Yggdrasill inquired.

"Shut up!" Lloyd commanded, gripping the swords Genis had handed him. "I'm gonna make you pay for what you've done to Colette," he growled. Lloyd charged into battling Yggdrasill, Sheena soon joining him as the Sage siblings attacked from as far away from him a possible; moving when he teleported near them. "What the—? Our attacks, they're—"

"Not working?" A man's voice murmured, trying as best he could not to be heard by the male, blond-haired angel. "Try ambushing him from behind."

"Wha—Kra—"

"Shh…Do you want him to notice what I'm doing?" The brunette shook his head. "Good. So, are you going to do as I said and attack Lord Yggdrasill when his back turned?"

"But, Kra—"

"Do it or you shall never defeat him in your current con—"

"Now what have we here?" Yggdrasill's voice questioned. The pair of swordsmen glanced uneasily around them to see that the other three had fainted while they were talking. "Kratos? What a surprise…"

After that, Yggdrasill summoned a sword and its power gets released, causing Lloyd to get knocked to a pillar, knocking the top part of it off in the process.

Yggdrasill turned to Kratos. "Kratos, I trust you have no objections?"

Standing up, the angelic mercenary didn't answer. "…"

"Farewell." Yggdrasill was about to finish off Lloyd and his friends when a fire shot came from the entrance of the central room. It just barely missed Yggdrasill as Botta and some of his the soldiers arrive.

"Darn it! The Chosen has already become an angel! We have no choice. We're taking her back with us alive!" Botta decided. He began to teleport the two Sages, the ninja summoner, and the dark-haired swordsman out of the Tower of Salvation.

As they left, Yggdrasill commented, "…Renegades…as irritating as ever. Still, it is of little consequence. Kratos, let us leave."

"As you wish…" The auburn-haired mercenary replied just before the blond disappeared from sight. "Hmm…saved by the Renegades," he murmured pensively. "Don't die, Lloyd."

* * *

After being aided by the group Yggdrasill had called "the Renegades", Lloyd and his companions were summoned by a man they called "Lord Yuan." As they entered, the same, blue-haired man Lloyd had met in Triet turned to face them. The man he had been talking to had brown hair and appeared to be lower in status than the one with blue hair. 

"You're finally awake," the first man said, seeming content.

"Are you…the Renegades?" Lloyd wondered, still slightly sleepy from waking up so suddenly.

"Correct," the man nodded. "We're an underground resistance dedicated to fighting the Desians…or rather, the Cruxis."

"So Cruxis and the Desians really are the same organization?" Raine inquired.

"Correct," the lower-ranking man answered. "Cruxis controls the Church of Martel in the open, and operates the Desians from behind the scenes. The Desians are a subordinate organization within Cruxis. The Church of Martel is nothing more than an instrument created by Cruxis to rule the world. Those who call themselves angels are half-elves, who've evolved by using a special type of exsphere called Cruxis Crystals. They aren't gods or anything of the sort. Of course, the Church of Martel and the Chosen know nothing about that."

"Wait a second!" Lloyd said just as Sheena asked. "They're half-elves, too?!"

"Yes. Some of the Desians, as well as Cruxis and ourselves, are half-elves. It was Lord Yuan's idea to do so." The man gestured to his superior.

"Yuan…What is Cruxis trying to do? Are they doing all of this just to rule the world?" The brunette teen asked, his tone beginning to sound angry.

Get annoyed with the boy, the one called Yuan retorted. "Do you intend to have Botta and I explain everything? How about using your own head a little."

Looking like she was trying to figure out something, the professor asked, "Do they wish to revive the Goddess Martel? They send oracles to those of the mana lineage and control their marriages to create Chosens who become the vessel. It seems meaninglessly drawn out and complicated."

"Well, well. I am impressed," Botta remarked.

"There is another world beyond Sylvarant that competes for mana. It's na—" Yuan started before being interrupted by Lloyd.

"Tethe'alla."

"Yes," Yuan nodded in confirmation, giving the boy a slightly reproachful look for cutting his explanation short. "And the one who created this twisted world was Cruxis' leader, Yggdrasill."

"Create a world?" Genis commented, seeming not believe what he just heard. "That's ridiculous! No one can do that!"

Beginning to turn and walk over to his desk, Yuan replied, "If that's what you believe, then our conversation ends here."

"Yuan, wait," Lloyd spoke up. "If Yggdrasill was the one that created the two worlds, what can you possibly hope to do against someone like that? And that's not all. You tried to kill me and Colette." At that point, the young mage coughed as if trying to get Lloyd to correct his grammar. Although Lloyd had heard him, the dual swordsman decided to continue on in his ranting. "You're certainly not on our side. Yet for some reason, you saved us. Why?" He wondered, his tone of voice becoming more and more accusing by the word.

Yuan scoffed softly, remembering their first meeting. "You're not as stupid as you seem."

"Excuse me?!" The young swordsman demanded.

"Our goal is to stop Martel's revival. Therefore, the Chosen, who would become her vessel, was an obstacle…" Botta explained, turning to look at the other half-elf to see if he should go on in his explanation.

After a slight pause, Yuan continued where Botta left off. "Unfortunately, the Chosen completed the angel transformation. The Chosen is now a lethal weapon whose only goal is self-preservation. We wouldn't dare lay a hand on her. But now we have the key to stop Martel's resurrection, and we no longer need the Chosen." As he spoke, about six or seven Renegade soldiers appeared, surrounding the five traveling companions. "What we need now, is you, Lloyd Irving."

Confused, Lloyd's brown eyes looked straight into Yuan's cobalt ones. "…Me?! What's so special about me?"

"That, is none of your concern," Yuan responded, then giving the soldiers and order, "Get him!" As the Renegade soldiers and Yuan approach Lloyd and his friends, the half-elven man suddenly kneels to the floor, grimacing. "Ugh!"

"Lord Yuan!" one of the Renegades as well as Botta approached Yuan.

Botta checked the blue-haired man to see if he was injured. "It's his wound from Hima."

Looking down at the floor, Yuan moaned, "Ugh, Kratos…How many times must you get in my way?"

"Wound from Hima?" Lloyd asked, taking a step back. "Are you telling me the one who attacked Kratos was…?" As he waited for an answer from Yuan, the rest of his friends ran towards the door.

Sheena ran back, grabbing the brunette's arm. "Lloyd! What are you doing?!" she demanded. As Lloyd went to catch up with the other three, Sheena summoned Corrine to distract the Renegades.

* * *

As soon as they got far enough away as Raine thought they would need, Lloyd went into another rant. "What's so special about me?! Those Renegades need to hurry up and make up their freaking minds about whether they're our enemies or not!" 

Calm down, Lloyd," Genis advised. Do you even know what we're going to do now?"

The teen put a bit of thought into his answer. "…We've got to save Colette somehow," he told the younger boy, glancing over at Colette. "She's going to die if she's made into Martel's vessel."

"But what can we do?" Genis questioned.

"Sheena," Raine started, "where did you get your exsphere?"

"Huh?" The summoner, who had been intently listening to the two of them, asked. "Well that's random. I got this before I came here to Sylvarant. They attached it to me at the Imperial Research Academy."

"Is it normal for people to equip exspheres in Tethe'alla?"

She shook her head. "No, not at all. The technology was originally brought over by the Renegades," Sheena explained. "Nowadays, exspheres are mainly attached to machines."

Just realizing that his and Genis' conversation was being ignored, Lloyd decided to input into the females' discussion. "Wait a second. So Tethe'alla and the Renegades are on the same side?"

"I'm not sure if you could say that, but the Renegades were the ones that brought us information about the nature of the two worlds. And the plan to assassinate the Chosen was their idea. They talked the King and the Pope into it. Yuan told them, 'If you desire for Tethe'alla to prosper, kill the Chosen of Sylvarant.' I would assume they agreed with his plans, even without knowing the entire reason why he wanted to do such a thing."

"That's horrible!" Genis stated, shocked.

"Lloyd, I suggest we go to Tethe'alla."

"Why Tethe'alla?" the young mage asked his older sister.

"Don't you remember what Yuan said? Angels are half-elves that evolved using special exspheres called Cruxis Crystals."

"…Oh, I get it! Colette's current condition is caused by the Cruxis Crystal!" Lloyd filled in for those who didn't already get it(meaning no one else).

"Since Tethe'alla is studying the exspheres, they may know something about Cruxis Crystals as well," Raine explained.

"That's a good idea," Sheena agreed. "I'm pretty sure that they're studying the Cruxis Crystal that belongs to Tethe'alla's Chosen at the Imperial Research Academy."

"Tethe'alla has a Chosen, too?" Genis asked, seeming surprised.

"Of course," the summoner responded off-handedly. "The world regeneration ritual is carried out in Tethe'alla as well. The Church of Martel exists, too."

"…But if they've been carrying out the regeneration that many times, why hasn't Martel's vessel been completed already?" Lloyd wondered.

"I'm curious about that myself, Raine commented. "Perhaps those corpses lined up in the Tower of Salvation were… No, never mind."

"Yeah. There are too many things that we don't know: Cruxis' objective, the Renegades, the method to save Colette… So let's just start with what we can do now," Lloyd decided.

"So we're going to Tethe'alla?" Sheena asked, sounding slightly excited.

"Yeah." Lloyd nodded. "That's the only lead we have right now. And this time, I'm going to fulfill my role. I'm not going to let Colette bear the burden all by herself anymore."

"Wait a minute," Genis said. "That's great and all, but how are we going to get to Tethe'alla?"

Turning to the dark-haired summoner, Raine answered. "I'm sure Sheena knows how to get there, correct?"

"My understanding is that you can travel to Tethe'alla by passing through a distortion in space. And as far as I know, crafts called rheairds are the only things that can do that."

"Where are they?"

"The Renegades should have them somewhere around here."

"Okay then! Let's get going!" Lloyd decided, pointing down the hallway.  
"Uh…Lloyd?" Genis spoke up a bit uncertainly. "If they were somewhere in this base, I'd say they were in the hanger, don't you think?"

"Yeah, what about that?" As he asked, his silver-haired friend pointed to a small nameplate next to the nearest door. "What? 'Rheaird Hanger'…oh, uh, heh…heh." The other three sighed, following Lloyd through the door. "So these are the rheairds."

"Hurry and let's go!" Sheena said, rushing over to one of the plane-like rheairds. "They'll catch up to us!"

"You just want to get back to Tethe'alla, don't you, Sheena?" Genis asked, receiving a hit on his head from his sister for it. "Ow!" She ordered him to apologize to Sheena before allowing anyone to board the rheairds.

"All right, then! Thethe'alla, here we come!" Lloyd shouted excitedly. The five of them rode the rheairds and entered through to the other world of Tethe'alla. In Tethe'alla, Lloyd's group was still able to ride on their Rheairds, but then suddenly, an empty fuel sound from the rheairds could be heard. "Whoa! Wh-what's happening?!"

"I don't know, it just suddenly…" Genis started, a sickening feeling showing on his face.

"Look! The fuel gauge is empty!" Raine pointed out.

"So that's it!" Sheena commented. "Since you've broken the seals in Sylvarant, there's not enough mana in this world."

"And that means?!" the young mage's voice now was almost identical to his facial expression.

"We're gonna fall!" the black-haired summoner shouted as they plummeted to the ground.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..!" the boys yelled at the top of their lungs.

* * *

After amazingly surviving crashing into the Fooji Mountains, Lloyd and the others tried to see if they were going to be able to use the rheairds anytime soon. "I think we managed to avoid destroying them completely," Lloyd commented, sighing. 

"But they're useless unless we get some fuel," the young mage responded.

"What's the fuel? Coal?"

Sheena turned to stare at Lloyd in amazement. "Coal?! Oh, geez…how do you guys manage to actually live in Sylvarant?"

"Then magic, I assume," Raine concluded. "Perhaps the lightning that Volt produces?" she inquired, looking over at Sheena.

"Then all we have to do is have Sheena summon Volt, right?"

"No! I-I…haven't made a pact with Volt is what I mean, Genis."

"Oh. Then I guess we'll just have to leave these here," the brunette commented.

Genis sighed, adding, "And here I thought magitechnology was infallible."

Lloyd glanced out at a shape in the distance. "Hey, is that...the Tower of Salvation? Why's that here in Tethe'alla?"

"Of course it's here," Sheena replied. "The Tower of Salvation appears in the flourishing world. The Tower also appeared on your side after Colette received the oracle, right?"

"Two worlds…two towers…" Raine murmured to herself, and then raised her voice to a normal level to ask Sheena, "What about the Holy Ground? The Church of Martel is also over here, correct? Is the Holy Ground called Kharlan?"

"Yeah, the place where the Tower of Salvation lies is the Holy Ground of Kharlan. Just as it is in your world."

"The Holy Ground of Kharlan is where the peace treaty was signed to end the Ancient War! There can't be two of them!" Genis disagreed, shaking his head.

"Are you sure yours isn't a fake?" she countered. "We have records in our museums that depict how the Hero Mithos called the two ancient kings to the Holy Ground of Kharlan in order to forge a peace treaty."

"And such records exist on our side as well," Raine told her. "Instruments used to sign the treaty can be found in the Palmacosta Academy."

Having been listening to the three's conversation, and Lloyd chose now to input into it "…So either one side is fake…or maybe they're actually both real."

"Lloyd, that's not possible!" Genis objected.

Startled, the brunette answered hurriedly waving his hands in front of himself. "Don't get mad. I was just…kinda…saying stuff. …Anyway, let's get going."

"It's true we aren't gonna get anywhere by wondering about it here," Sheena added.

"Wow, it's our first adventure in Tethe'alla!" Genis shouted, excitedly jumping up and down in one place as Colette and his sister followed Lloyd and Sheena down the mountain path.

"…Genis, this isn't a field trip," Raine told him, her voice dull. Lloyd stopped for a second, turning to look at his teacher. Noticing his look, she asked, "what?"

"No," the teen shook his head just before turning back to continue on. "It's nothing." They continued on down the mountain path, but when they reached the base of the mountains Lloyd stopped, wondering "…Hey, by the way, where are we going?"

Sheena's footsteps stopped as she asked, "…What the?! You're the one that said, 'let's go!' I thought you knew where you were going!"

Lloyd gave her a look as to say: "you expect me to know where we're going?" "How would I know? I'm from Sylvarant, remember?"

"Ah, yes, of course. I'm sorry. Meltokio, the Imperial City, the center of Tethe'alla is where we need to go. It's the city where the King of Tethe'alla resides."

"Is it far from here?"

"It's not that far. Just north of here I'd say."

"Meltokio, huh? Okay, let's hurry up and go there!"

There was a brief pause, during which Lloyd and the Sage siblings stared at Sheena in expectation. "…Ah…right. Sheena led them all the way to Meltokio. Allowing them to go ahead of her, she stopped. "Sorry, but I'm going to part ways with you here."

They all, including Colette, turned to face her. "What? Why?"

"Have you forgotten?" She questioned the young boy. "I was sent kill Colette. I have to report my failure to the Chief."

"Is this Chief person in this city?"

Sheena shook her head. "I'm from Mizuho and we were chased from this land years ago. We all live in hiding, so no one outside the village knows where to find and scorn us."

"If you go make that report, are you going to be all right?" Raine asked, seeming worried.

"Don't worry about that. Anyway, I'd like you to deliver this letter for me," she asked, handing Lloyd a letter. "Please give it to the King in Castle Tethe'alla. Tell him it's from Sheena of Mizuho. He'll grant you an audience right away."

"The King wants to kill Colette, right?" Genis asked. "Are you sure this is going to be all right?"

"In order to stop that, I've written the details of everything that's happened and requested that they help heal Colette," Sheena told him. "There's nothing you need to worry about."

"I see…Thank you, Sheena!" Lloyd smiled. There was a brief pause.

"Ah, no, y…you don't have to thank me," Sheena replied, blushing a little. "It's nothing. Don't mention it. The Imperial Research Academy is under the control of the royal family. There isn't any other way, that's all!"

"Are you embarrassed?" Genis wondered, laughing softly. "You're funny, Sheena!" Once again, there was a brief pause.

"Sh…shut up! I'm going now!" She turned to leave, only to have Lloyd ask her a question.

"We'll see you again, won't we, Sheena?"

"Hmmm…We might meet again, and we might not."

"Then, let's not say good-byes quite yet," Raine decided.

"Yeah." Lloyd waved. "See you again."

Sheena nodded. "See you again…someday!" She then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  
"That's just like how she found us…sort of."

* * *

With Sheena's letter, the four of them walk into the city of Meltokio. As they continued on, a dog approached Colette, who had her angel wings out. Noticing it, Colette kicked the dog out of her way without even a second thought. 

"Colette?!" Lloyd' voice sounded surprised. "And she used to love dogs too…" Suddenly, a man in green armor-like clothes walked down the steps in front of them. "Ahahaha. That's a violent young lady there. That's marvelous." He then walked by them without another word.

Raine turned to watch him leave. "…Who in the world was that man?"

* * *

Meltokio...the city of cities in Tethe'alla. Well, I bet you can all guess who's coming up in the next one. 


	20. WHA?

Hi! I'd like to thank my reviewers who have stayed with this so long.

Next up, MELTOKIO!

* * *

Chapter 19

"**KRATOS!**" A man's voice shouted. The sound reverberated throughout the large throne room-like place in which the blond stood. "Where are you!"

"You called, Lord Yggdrasill?" The solemn tone of Kratos Aurion inquired, his footsteps falling lightly onto the floor; one by one. "What is it you-agh!" Before he could finish asking his question, a shot of pure light blasted him back.

"You have the nerve to ask what I want after what you've done?" Yggdrasill demanded coldly, his ocean blue eyes seeming to glow with fire as he spoke. "Not only did you lose the vessel, but you attempted to help those annoying inferior beings defeat me as well as aided them in destroying two of the Five Grand Cardinals and their human ranches." A small, white spell circle appeared below him; barely being able to be seen by the auburn-haired man. "Prepare to face your own, painfully miserable fate, Kratos. I know you can't die that easily, or I wouldn't be risking it now. Be grateful you're still valuable to me, human." Kratos remained silent, taking Yggdrasill's attacks as stone-faced as he could. Although, by the time the blond had unleashed his sixth "Holy Lance" attack, the angelic human was beginning to wear down both physically and mentally. Not only were Yggdrasill's techniques' affects on him beginning to show through onto Kratos' face, but he was also beginning to think that Yggdrasill had re-thought his plans…and that the revised plans didn't require his help. "Speak now, Kratos. Why did you betray me?" The auburn-haired man remained silent, the blond then scowled. "I told you to speak. Or do you want to be locked up again?" Kratos shook his head. "No? Then speak!" From the lack of sound coming from him, Yggdrasill disappeared and then reappeared near the communication controls. "Send over a transport as soon as possible."

"Right away, Lord Yggdrasill."

As soon as his transmission ended, a light engulfed him to reveal his child form. "I gave you a chance, Kratos. You refused, so now you're going to pay for it."

The angelic human stared at him in, even though it didn't show, surprise. "You're going to…lock me up in there again?"

Yggdrasill gave him a look, "Did I not just tell you that?" Hearing a pair of voices coming from outside the room, he then reverted back to his adult form. Unfortunately for Kratos, who remained silent instead of answering Yggdrasill's question, a pair of angels with white, feathery wings came with the mode of transportation for Yggdrasill. Deciding to accompany him so he didn't escape the blond's decision, both Yggdrasill and Kratos stepped onto the transport.

Moments later, the two of them appeared inside an entirely white room; the light seeming to be coming from no where. Seeing the slightly confused look on Kratos' face, Yggdrasill wondered, "Is it different from what you remember, Kratos?" A smirk slowly formed on his face as he spoke.

The human nodded, unable to believe what he saw; the expression on his face being only a fraction of the emotion flowing through him. "What makes you think that having the whole room white will cause any difference than the last time you confined me here?"

"You're asking what the point in allowing you to see well is?" Yggdrasill questioned, his tone making it seem like he found something funny. Noticing the change of pitch in the blond's voice, Kratos turned to see that he was now accompanied by the young boy he grew to know instead of the man he pretended to be. "What? Oh, I see. You're wondering why I changed forms, aren't you? Well, I can' have her see me like I was before or she'll most likely go insane again."

". . .'She'?" Yggdrasill raised a hand to point directly behind Kratos. He whipped around to look in the direction the blond was pointing and saw a woman with long, light brown hair sitting up against something that Kratos soon realized was a wall. _Just how small is this room?_ He took a step forward, a feeling of dread coming over him. _Is that—it can't be…she can't be alive. I searched the entire area for her when I came back…unless he's simply playing a trick on my eyes, that's—_ "A—Anna?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was obvious that she had heard him. As he got closer, it became clearer and clearer to him that it truly was Anna. That she hadn't died those fifteen years ago back in Iselia.

* * *

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* * *

The four traveling companions continued on through the city. Coming upon a large building, Lloyd, Colette, Genis and Raine saw a group of people walking toward them. The group was of about seven or eight elaborately dressed women, all crowding around a red-haired man in pink clothes. All of them stopped to let the strangers go by, but Colette kept walking and ran into one of the women.

"H…hey, watch it!" a blonde woman in blue ordered, her voice shrill.

"Watch where you're going!" one of the others near the back of the group added.

The man turned to face the women he was with. "Now, now, settle down, my daring hunnies," his voice was just a little annoying as he tried to calm them all down. He then turned to look at Colette. "Hi there, my little cool beauty, are you hurt?"

"…" Colette didn't respond.

"Well would you look at that! Master Zelos himself has deigned to speak to this girl, and yet look how she acts!" the woman Colette had run into commented.

"Just look at her! It's not even festival time and yet she's dressed up in an angel costume. How stupid are you?" The woman beside the single man added.

"Can you believe the nerve of this hag?"

"What did you say!" Genis demanded, angry at the woman for saying such a thing about Colette.

" Just let it go, Genis," Lloyd told him, smirking slightly at the woman. "She's obviously never looked in a mirror."

"**WHAT DID YOU SAY?" **the woman in blue shrieked.

"You're all behaving like children," Raine commented dully.

"Now, now, settle down my darling hunnies," the man who they had called "Master Zelos" told them, motioning to the women behind him to settle down and not pay attention to Lloyd. He turned to Colette, "Are you upset, my little angel? You know, I bet you're as cute as a button when you smile." Just as Zelos approached Colette, she threw him into air. 

Seeing this, one of the women screeched, "Ahhhhh! Master Zelos!" He was, somehow, able to evade crash-landing on the ground; landing on his feet. "Whoa!" he shouted, amazed at Colette's strength. "Wow. That certainly was a surprise. You're startlingly strong, my little angel."

Confused, Lloyd questioned, "Wh…who are you…?"

As he strode toward Lloyd and his companions, the man responded sourly, "No offense, but I'm not interested in talking to guys. So stay outta my way," he muttered the last part to the young teen.

Genis groaned at the redhead's words. "…I hate this guy already."

The man looked over at Genis, his gaze cold. Scanning the others, he spotted Raine. "Oh! What's your name, beautiful?" he wondered, his voice softer than that of his glance at the young mage; his expression imitating his tone.

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine," Raine's expression was that of slight annoyance at the thought of such a man flirting with her in front of what appeared to be many of his admirers.

Surprised, Genis commented, "Hey, you copied Lloyd!"

A tad insulted by his best friend's amazement at the mage's sister's use of his own line, Lloyd admitted uneasily, "…Now that I've heard someone say it, it sounds kind of arrogant."

"Oh, my, you don't know me?" The red-haired man asked in surprise, the young mage muttering to incoherently afterwards. "Well, well. I guess I still have a ways to go," He concluded as his admirers walked over to him as Genis discreetly rolled his eyes at the man.

"Master Zelos, let's go!"

"Oh, yes, yes, of course," he responded, waving his hand towards them slightly, his tone distracted. "Well then, I'll see you again, my lovely lady, my cute little angel," his voice changed form soft to plain-out annoyed as he continued, "and…uh…you other people."

Watching the group leave down the stairs which he and his friends had come, Lloyd inquired awe-struck, "What was that all about?"

Genis, too, watched as the women and their idol left, glaring at the back of the man's head. "What an ass. He was grinning like an idiot the entire time. What's wrong with that guy?"

"He had an exsphere on him," Raine commented, since she figured neither of the other two noticed.

"What?" Genis asked, abruptly coming out of his un-Genis-like attitude towards Zelos. "No—H-how is that possible!"

"So that's how he reacted so fast…" Lloyd commented, sounding like he was actually using his own mind for once. "Just who is that guy?"

The four of them continued on inside Meltokio, but when they tried to get inside to see the king, neither guard would let them pass through. They said the king was sick and wasn't allowing anyone to come speak with him. "Now what do we do?" The dual swordsman wondered after retreating back from the entrance a little.

"That guard. Didn't he mention something about the Church of Martel?" Genis asked.  
Raine nodded. "He said they're praying for a quick recovery for the king. Perhaps we should go see if we could get in that way?"

After agreeing, they walked the small distance over to the Church of Martel. Once inside, Raine strode over to the nearest person who appeared to be part of the church. "Welcome to the Church of Martel," he greeted, since it appeared that the four of them didn't know where they were going to him. He was about to continued when he saw a young girl enter through the doors Lloyd and his friends had just came in from. "Oh, Presea, there you are. The prayers are to take place in the royal chambers. Please carry the sacred wood to the castle." This caused Lloyd and the Sage siblings to turn toward the doorway. 

The girl he called Presea had bright pink hair up in a pair of ponytails, navy blue dress-type clothes, an orange-ish brown pack around her waist, gray, almost metallic boots, and similar gloves. One hand was lying atop a handle that extended past the doorway, but could not be seen by those inside the church. "…Yes." Presea then grasped the handle, turned around the sacred wood, and dragged it back through the door.

Once she left, Lloyd and Raine turned back around to face the man they had been talking to. Genis, however, stayed where he was, looking transfixed by Presea. "…She's cute."

"That girl he called Presea has an exsphere, too. Is that a standard custom over here?" Lloyd asked the man.

"Yeah…She's really cute," the young mage's voice sounded mesmerized.

Lloyd turned around to look at Genis. "Are you listening at all?"

"You mentioned prayers," Raine said to the man. "Are you praying for the recovery of the King?"

"Yes. The Chosen and the Pope will pray before His Majesty and receive the assistance of Martel." After he said that, no one spoke for a little while. Well, until Lloyd anyway.

"You said the prayers will take place in the royal chambers, right?"

"Yes, that's correct, but—"

"Okay, thanks!" Lloyd nodded as the man left. "Guys! I've figured out how we're going to see the King!" He told them excitedly, turning so that the four of them made a circle.

Genis turned around, having finally given up hope that Presea would be coming back any time soon. "What? What are we going to do?"

"We'll pretend to carry the sacred wood and sneak in," the brunette explained. "Weren't you—wait a second. I have to explain something to you this time," he told his best friend, chuckling.

Raine glanced at him, wondering what it would mean if that occurred more often. "…I thought you'd say that. But how are we going to get sacred wood?"

"Let's have that Presea help us," Lloyd responded. "She's probably part of the prayers other than just taking that wood to the royal chambers."

"What? R-r-really?" Genis asked, his voice giving away that he decided to agree with Lloyd's idea right when he mentioned Presea. "I-I agree! That's a good plan! Let's do that!"

"Well, all right. Let's try talking to her, at least," the professor agreed, beginning to walk back through the Church of Martel over to the door. Since Genis was the most excited to have an excuse to talk with Presea, he hurriedly got ahead of the others and left the church first. When they got outside, they saw Presea talking with a man.

"Well then, I'll let you get to work," he said. "The sacred wood goes to Altamira. You can do it after your current job is done."

"Understood."

"The plan is right on schedule. I must report this to Lord Rodyle," he told her just before leaving to exit Meltokio. 

Presea then took hold of the handle once more before the young mage called out to her. "Hey! Wait a second! Um…Pre-Presea!" She stopped, not turning around to face the others.

"Excuse us, but could we possibly have a moment of your time?" Raine asked politely.

"I'm Lloyd. This is Colette and Raine and—"

"I-I-I'm Genis!" He interrupted the dual swordsman, his voice faltering basically every word he spoke to her.

Lloyd turned to him, slightly confused, "Hey, Genis, why're you blushing?"

Ignoring the brunette's question, Genis asked Presea on of his own. "Um…W-would y-you let us help y-you ca-carry the sacred wood f-for you, Pre-Pre-Presea?" Presea, not answering in any verbal way, then begins walking away. "W-wait!"

"I apologize, Presea," the mage's elder sister started, trying her luck at getting the young, oddly-color haired girl to speak to them. "I know this is a bit strange, but please hear us out. The truth is, we have a letter we wish to give to the King. The life of our friend depends on it. But since the King is sick, he refuses to see anyone. We would really appreciate your help if we could carry the sacred wood for you."

" …"

"A-are you listening?"

". . .Understood," Presea answered, her voice sounding a bit robotic. Just as she begins to away, Genis spoke uncertainly:

"U-um, Presea?"

"Please carry that."

"Oh! Okay! Leave it to us, Presea!" Lloyd responded, hurrying over to pick up the sacred wood, Genis quickly following him. The pair attempted to pick it up, but…they just couldn't exactly compete with Presea's efforts. "Oh my g-w-wait a minute!" The brunette panted, the sacred wood not even beginning to get off the ground. "Augh…this thing is heavy!"

Presea, turning around, came back and dragged the sacred wood by herself. Watching her, Lloyd and his friends stared in awe. "I've lost all confidence as a man," he admitted.

"Me too," Genis added sullenly.

* * *

Well, that's all for now. Until next I update this one. 


	21. Zelos' Advice?

GOMEN NASI MINNA! It's been so long since this thing was updated and I apologize profusely. How ever will you forgive me? *knows I'm only talking to about two people but doesn't really care*

* * *

Chapter 20

Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and Colette had followed their new pink-haired companion Presea through the doors of the King of Tethe'alla's castle. They had a little trouble with the guards at first, but they handled it well and were able to get into royal chambers without much effort. Yeah Lloyd had to knock out a few guards along the way, so what? When they wake up, none of them'll remember a thing.

The five of them walked through the doors to the royal chambers and continued inside. As they got nearer and nearer to the group of people there, Genis sighed in annoyance muttering under his breath.

One of the men there, who was dressed in what appeared to be the garb of the Pope, turned to see the travelers approaching. "What's going on?!" he demanded. Hearing him, everyone else looked around and saw the five of them.

Other than the red-headed Zelos they had met before, no one spoke. "Huh? What're you people doing here?"

"You! You're the one we met before who was such a—!" Lloyd started before getting cut off by the Pope who had turned to Zelos:  
"Great Chosen, do you know these…these peasants?"

Genis' gaze quickly changed from a death glare at Zelos to an almost blank look of surprise. "Chosen?!" He asked, bewildered, while Lloyd demanded, "'Peasants'?!"

Zelos shrugged, answering off-handedly. "Well, I dunno if I'd say I know them exactly…" The red head turned to Lloyd and his friends. "What the hel-" He glanced back at those of royal blood behind him, caught in mid-sentence, "heck are you doing here, anyway?"

"So he's Tethe'alla's Chosen of Mana…" Raine murmured, a bit amused. "What a surprise."

"I'll say," her younger brother muttered, still in shock that someone like Zelos was the Chosen of Mana.

"What do you mean this guy's the Chosen?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. Are you saying you're from Sylvarant?"

"Yeah, we are. Is there a problem with that you stupid—ow!" The speaker looked behind him to see his teacher giving him the look you NEVER wanted to get from someone like her. "Sorry, Professor…" The memory of one of Dirk's more important lessons came to mind, making the young teen shudder: 'Dwarven Vow number 44: Raine is **SCARY**.'

"These people are from th-the declining world?!" The sole Tethe'allan female shrieked.

Zelos turned to her, his voice a soothing tone. "Not to worry, Princess, I'll see to it that…uh…" he tilted his head to the side, lowered his voice to a whisper, and urgently asked, "…what _is_ your name anyway?"

"Lloyd."

The red head looked back to the princess. "That Lloyd and his fellows from Sylvarant don't disturb you for very longer." He turned back, conveniently forgetting about Genis for the moment. "Lloyd, why did you and these three lovely ladies come to our world?"

"We've come to deliver this letter from Sheena of Mizuho for His Majesty," the young teen responded. As he spoke, Lloyd stepped forward to give them the letter, but no one bothered to take it from him so he stepped back and put the letter away.

"Sheena?" Both the King and Tethe'alla's Chosen wondered, the latter's voice sounding like he was in total shock. "How do _YOU _know Sheena?" Zelos demanded.

The Pope turned to his king, his voice apologetic, "Majesty, please forgive us for causing a disturbance in your presence."

"Yeah, they're really sorry," Zelos added, turning to Lloyd and his companions. "Aren't you guys?"  
Genis glared at the red-head, about to say something when his elder sister cut him off, "Yes, we are. Please excuse my students' unruly behavior."

"Lloyd, if you would give me the letter," Tethe'alla's king asked.

"Oh, uh, here," Lloyd responded, taking a few steps forward past Zelos and the Pope and handed the King Sheena's letter. Immediately after he gave it to the King, a hand slapped the back of the teen's head. "Ow!" Lloyd spun on his heel to see all but one person with straight faces; Zelos being the one trying, yet failing, not to laugh. The King read the letter, and then frowned slightly. "People of Sylvarant," the King began. "Please wait in the other room for a while." He turned to the Pope, nodding.

The Pope said nothing for a while, just looked confused. "Ah, right, of course. Pastor, show them to the Crimson Chamber." To those of Sylvarant, his tone seemed to be slightly ominous.

"Yes, Your Eminence." The six then left the room, leaving the King, his daughter, the Pope, & Zelos to talk about what they should decide to do with the five arrivals from Sylvarant. As the Chosen and the royal family conversed, the others were led into the Crimson Chamber to await the decision of Tethe'alla's King.

"They sure are taking long," Lloyd muttered audibly, the Tethe'allans out of hearing range. "What's going to happen to us, Professor?"

Raine sighed. "Who knows? They may decide to kill us. Allowing Colette, and probably anyone involved, to live has the potential to cause problems for them." No one's expression changed except the young mage, whose face shown with fear. "Wh-what would happen to Presea? They won't kill her, will they, Raine?"  
"It is possible…Will you forgive us for dragging you into this, Presea?" The teacher asked, looking to the young pink-haired girl…no response what so ever. Who would've guessed?

"We apologize for keeping you waiting, travelers of Sylvarant," one of two armored guards that entered with the Chosen told them, his voice even.

"You read the letter then?" Raine asked before Lloyd could even begin to open his big mouth and get them all into trouble.

Zelos shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Am I understanding all of this right? You all want to use Tethe'allan technology to save you Chosen, even though you know that both sides know the consequences of your actions if she regenerates Sylvarant?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, but Colette's lost her soul, Zelos, she's…she won't be able to regain her life as a human if you don't do anything soon."

"But as long as that brat lives, even as she is now, the greater of the two worlds will remain in danger of losing our technological luxuries that every Tethe'allan takes for granted anyway. . ." The Pope's interruption dwindled down to barely any words, both the brunette and red head staring at him in slight confusion as he neared the end. "Please, accept my apologizes, Chosen One." To which Zelos shrugged off-handedly. "Anyway, guards, seize her!" The Pope commanded, pointing at Colette.

"This is just like you said, Raine," Genis looked at his sister as two guards came forward to capture Colette. "What are they going to do to—?" The young genius stopped in mid-sentence, seeing as Colette attacked both guards when they came near her as if on instinct. "What the—? Raine, what happened?" He wondered, but his voice was drowned out by the high-pitched screeches coming from the Tethe'allan guards.

Zelos stared at the two for a moment, and then gave those around him an awkward look. "Hey, Pope, how 'bouts you get these whining idiots outta here while I discuss the matter with them." Even though it sounded like a suggestion by the way he had said it, but the Pope gathered the guards and left the room quickly. "Anyway, I—"

"What were they going to do to Colette?" Lloyd demanded, glaring at Tethe'alla's Chosen of Mana. Zelos shifted his gaze away from Lloyd. "Y-You don't wanna worry your little mind about it, okay? It's better if you don't know."

"You've got to have a miniscule brain yourself…" Genis muttered audibly, only to receive a smack to the back of his head by Raine. "Ow!"

"Why you impudent little brat!" Zelos retorted angrily, a fist clenching. "You're just begging to be the most wanted midget in Tethe'alla, aren't you?"

Raine stepped confidently forward. "What would you say to making a deal?"

"A deal?" Both Genis and Lloyd repeated simultaneously. "But, Professor, he's—"

Without even the slightest glance at the pair of young boys, the silver-haired professor continued. "Colette lost her soul as to be reborn as an angel so she could save Sylvarant. Although as long as she doesn't become an angel…" She left Zelos to figure out the rest of her idea on his own. . . if he could.

The Chosen nodded. "You're saying IF I help you, which I still might not, then I'd be saving Tethe'alla too? Sounds like a plan, but what about your home world? Don't you care about Sylvarant?"

"Sylvarant was never my home. What should I care?"

Lloyd looked to his teacher in confusion. "What do you mean Professor? Isn't Sylvarant home to all four of us?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Zelos' tone took on a bit of confusion himself. "'Four of you'? But there's five of you people here before the Great Zelos. Who's from Tethe'alla?" No one decided to answer his odd question for the time being as they all knew there were more important matters to discuss.

Raine turned slightly so she could still see the redheaded chosen out of the corner of her eye, but also look at her students. "Right now, we need to focus on saving Colette. Is she not why we came all this way?"

"But, Raine…I don't like the idea of us abandoning Sylvarant so easily…" Genis protested whining a little.

"We can't worry about that right now, Genis. The Professor's right. We need to save Colette." Genis looked to his best friend, "But, Lloyd, why can't there be a way to save both worlds _and_ Colette? I'm sure she'd want that more than just us to save only her."

"Sheesh, you're indecisive," Zelos commented in a tone that annoyed Genis even more with the Chosen than he was before. "Not that I can blame you, I mean, you're deciding whether to allow thousands among thousands of people to live as they have been back where you came from. It is a hard decision to make right now." Once again, no one spoke. "Hey, how about I go with you guys to make sure you don't try to complete the regeneration ritual. I can get one of the guards to inform His Majesty that I'd be keeping tabs on you guys so no one here worries about their precious Chosen amongst the barbarians of Sylvarant."

"We are not barbarians you bas—!" Fortunately for Lloyd, Genis covered his mouth before he could finish insulting Zelos. "Lloyd, having him with us is the only way we're going to be able to travel around Tethe'alla without getting lost every two minutes."

Lloyd glowered at the pair of males in the room, other than himself of course. Then he sighed in resignation. "…We don't have a choice, do we?" He muttered. "Fine. You can travel with us, Zelos."

"That's settled then!" Zelos grinned. "I'm gonna go get some things together and send a guard to inform them of this among some other things. Meet me in the Martel Cathedral later, mmmkay?"

Lloyd nodded. "Sure."

"See you later then my cute little Chosen, my lovely lady, and my petite rosebud." With that, Zelos turned to leave, but then paused. "Oh…and you servant boys," he added as an after thought then he continued to proceed with what he said he would.

"Well, I guess we should go to the Church of Martel as soon as possible, huh?" Lloyd began, turning to his companions. Raine and Genis nodded in agreement while Presea and Colette simply stared either at them or into open space. They walk out of the Crimson Room, out the doors they had come through to get inside the palace, and then followed Presea's lead to the Church of Martel. When they arrive inside the church, the group sees Zelos standing in the middle of the pews near the front of the church.  
"How did he get here so fast?" Lloyd wondered, his voice accidently carrying throughout the entire room. "Didn't he say he had things to do?"

"You all just took so long that I had time to do it all," the Chosen remarked, resting his right hip against the top side of the nearest pew. "What took you so long anyway?"

"So…your name's Zelos?"

Zelos nodded proudly. "Yup, yup, I am The Great Zelos Wilder, but you can call me Zelos since we're gonna be hanging out for quite a while. So, let's just all be friends and get along, mmmkay?"

The young silver-haired genius grumbled to himself, muttering, "Doesn't he take anything seriously?"

Ignoring the boy's comment, Zelos continued. "Now, lemme see…ignoring the guys for the time being, this gorgeous beauty is Rai—"

"ZELOS!!!" A male voice shouted, distracting them all for whatever Zelos was going to say next. The entire group except Collette turned to see a light-haired boy of about fourteen dash up the aisle of the church and stop abruptly before Zelos and slapped him across his face. "Stop being such a pervert and actually pay attention to other people for once, okay?!" Upon the boy's sudden appearance and disappearance, the collective expression, minus Zelos, was the same as Collette's recent one: deadpanned. The male Chosen took that moment to scream in utter terror of the marks that could have been left on his beautiful face.

Being the first one to recover from that odd occurrence, Raine shook her head once or twice, just to clear it from the boy's actions affecting her mind at the time. "Do you know him, Zelos?"

"Hmm? What was that my beauty?" The redhead wondered still half crazed from the sudden attack upon himself. "Oh, no, never-what the hell is wrong with you, you stupid little blonde brat?!" He demanded angrily, stomping upon the ground multiple times once he remembered who that was. "I will never understand that Aster kid, seriously. Just because he's some smart scientist that hangs around with half-elves doesn't give him a right to do that to me."

One by one, the other two boys came out of their shocked states just to stare at Zelos in confusion: Lloyd just slightly more obvious than Genis. "Wha?" They wondered simultaneously. "No wait," the shorter of the two started. "Don't tell us," the brunette finished.

Zelos shrugged. "Whatever." He looked straight at the pair of friends, his gaze unblinkingly. "Just remember: whatever happens in the Church of Martel, stays only in the minds of those it occurred."

* * *

Personally, I don't exactly see any spelling errors, wyrz. . .


	22. Exspheres, HalfElves & Knights Oh My!

NEW CHAPTER TIME! ^_^

And now, it continues. . . . . . . . .

* * *

Chapter 21

"A—Anna?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was obvious that she had heard him. As he got closer, it became clearer and clearer to him that it truly was Anna. That she hadn't died those fifteen years ago back in Iselia.

"I'll let you two get…reacquainted," the young blond commented, the malice in his tone obvious to Kratos, taking a step back from the pair before disappearing in a flash of bright light.

Once the other male left him by himself, even if in the back of his mind he knew he was being watched, the auburn haired man dashed to Anna's side. "Are you alright, Anna? It's me, Kratos."

She didn't respond at first, but then the brunette's head rose to look directly at the angelic mercenary. "Why are you worried about me? I'm fine, but who are you?" Her expression didn't seem like it was trying to hide anything…and Kratos liked to think he could see through any facades. Anna's words froze him where he knelt.

* * *

The redhead Chosen of Tethe'alla grinned broadly as he gestured to a large bridge before them all. "Welcome, all, to the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge!" Not shortly after they left Meltokio did Zelos' mood lighten and his actions became more and more annoying to everyone around him. "Listen up and prepare to be dazzled, you country bumpkins. This great drawbridge is the largest in the world. While taking into account of its' size and length, it incorporates 3,000 Exspheres and connects the continents of Altamira and Fooji…wait, what's wrong with you guys all of a sudden?"

Although the Chosen was quite proud of his knowledge of the world around him, his companions were less than thrilled. Genis tilted his head to look up and over at the pink-wearing weirdo, a somber expression on his face. "Three thousand…human lives."

"What?" Zelos couldn't quite understand it, for you see his many hair dying experiences had finally taken affect on his brain…no, never mind. He's always like that. "What're you talking about, midget?"

At the current time, the young genius would disregard that last bit since there were more important things to do; not that he wouldn't get Zelos back somehow later. "Back in Sylvarant, we discovered that exspheres are made at the expense of human lives." His eyes glanced at the exsphere Zelos wore as well his own. "It's a very cruel process."

Shrugging, Zelos kept his same expression, but looked down at his hand anyway. "I doubt anyone important died because of these things, so what's it matter?" His words caused everyone around him except Colette to turn and stare at him in complete and utter shock.  
"How can you say something like that, Zelos?" Lloyd demanded, both his hands clenching into fists. "Of course someone important died in order for these exspheres to come into existence!" The hand on which the duel swordsman's exsphere rested shook, for the teen so much wanted to do what Aster had and slap the Chosen across his face. "My mother died," He started, bringing the hand up for Zelos to see the shinning gem. "The Desians killed her in their attempt to use the exsphere her soul was used to create." His voice wavered, his breath shortening out of anger. "SO DON'T YOU TELL ME NO ONE IMPORTANT DIED TO MAKE THEM!"

* * *

Laughter rang throughout the small room, ricocheting off the plain white walls to surround Kratos. How long had it been since he heard his wife's joyful laughing? It almost caused him to laugh as well, and he just might have if he knew what she was laughing about. Anna ceased for only a moment to look at Kratos' face. "Now that's the Krattie I know and love." She giggled, smiling even broader than she had been. "Never showing much emotion even when anyone else in your position would.

_Krattie…_A shadow of a smile came to the man's lips at hearing her call him by her nickname for him, but then it disappeared after he realized that she knew his name, even if it was altered a little. "How…do you know my name?"

Once more, the brunette started laughing and smiled up at the auburn haired man. "That's because I was only joking when I told you I didn't remember you, silly." She leaned forward and placed her forehead on his shoulder. "I would make you eat tomatoes for that, but I seem to be out of them at the moment."

A rare, genuine chuckle escaped Kratos' lips at her words. His gaze met her eyes as he tried to discern if this was in fact his Anna or a fake created by Yggdrasill just to get a reaction out of him when he remembered about another being who shared her eyes. "Do you remember the—?"

"How is Lloyd doing? Is he okay with that dwarf?" Anna wondered curiously, sitting up right once more. "Dirk, wasn't it?" Her eyes told the mock mercenary that this was indeed the Anna he saw fall from the cliff those many years ago, holding on to their son as if he could save her life.

"He is…" Kratos paused for a moment. "Doing quite well, actually. His grades could be better I hear, but he has a good head on his shoulders and could do better if he tried. Lloyd's swordsmanship was crude when I met him, but it's improved slightly. Although he still thinks that this is all just one large game that he can do over if he makes a mistake. For that he is a foolish child and not the man he wishes to become." As he spoke, Kratos crossed his arms across his chest, his eyes hardening at the thoughts that he spoke. Anna appeared to be about to say something, but then she closed her open mouth when she saw Kratos wasn't quite finished telling her about their son. "However, he has grown into a wonderful young man despite those qualities I have already said. He cares for his friends and gives most people the benefit of the doubt unless he has already made his mind up about them by the way he meets them…" Then, something happened that not even Yggdrasill could have seen coming from his spy camera's angle: Kratos laughed. Ever since he believe Anna had died, Kratos' sense of emotion had died along with her, but now he found it returned with the sudden appearance of his dear wife. His laughter rang out, uncontrollably.

From far out of the pristine walls, a young boy grimaced at the sight he witnessed. Almost directly behind him stood an older man with a dark blue ponytail; although on this one's face there was a slight smile. "He's back." The older half-elven male commented. "Kratos is back to the way he was…"

Immediately, the young blond child spun around to glare at his elder subordinate. "That may be good from some, but for our purposes that Kratos now has more of a potential to betray us and side with our opposition. Do you really think, for one second, that I'd let the possibility of that happening to me have the chance of taking root?" Yggdrasill turned his gaze back to the pair within the smaller room. "Kratos will learn to obey me," he stated angrily; his childish nature showing through to Yuan's eyes. "I don't care whether he likes it or not, he will."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Chosens' group had arrived at their destination. Immediately after entering the techie's city, known more as Sybak, the travelers followed Zelos' lead and headed straight to where they needed to go. After a short time, they ended up talking to one of the top researchers about one of their most crucial topics.

"So you're saying this thing is being a pear-ra-cite to Colette's body?" The young red-clad duel swordsman wondered in slight confusion.

In response he received an odd expression from the scientific human along with a nod after a short pause. "Yes, you see, without a Key Crest, this Cruxis Crystal of hers' will continue to feed off her life force. If you could in fact attach a Key Crest to it, however; there is more of a chance that she will be able to control the affects of her crystal."

Lloyd smiled at that information, glancing at Colette. "Then all we have to do is find a Key Crest for her, right? That's great!"

"Lloyd…" Genis, the almost always sensible youngster remarked, "Where are we going to _find_ a Key Crest? It's not like we can just go back to your house and ask Dirk to make one. We're—Mmmhh, Raine!" His sister gave him a "shut up before you blow our cover" look before turning towards the researcher. "Thank you for your time and assistance." She then directed her fellow travelers to proceed out the door and follow her out of the Research Academy. As soon as she figured they were far enough away from the city's inhabitants, the woman turned on her brother. "Genis, what were you thinking back there?" She demanded, trying very hard to keep her angry tone down as not to be over heard. "Do you want everyone to know that we—that most of us here are not from Tethe'alla?" Her question was met with silence, which lasted until the idiot Chosen spoke up in his ever-annoying tone of voice.

"How about we all just go see if there's anyone selling a Key Crest?" The redhead wondered off-handedly. "Would that be the easiest way to figure all this out?" He scans the rest of those around him in search for any objections for only a moment, and then proceeds to head for the shopping district of Sybak; a "just follow my lead" tossed over his shoulder at them as he left. Fortunately, Sybak's small district gave them but one or two shops to look through.

Finally, the brunette took the lead and decided to first check out the shop that appeared to be cheaper than the other one. Although it wasn't long until Zelos made a rude comment about the merchant's wares being "junk", Raine found some of the items to be quite…

"Isn't this FANTASTIC!?" The archeologist beamed at her little brother. "Genis, look at this. It's ancient magitechnology!" As she continued to be a complete lunatic, the young mage watched on in total embarrassment.

"Come on, you guys, we have to find a—Oh look! Shiny!" Even though Lloyd's original purpose was to be serious, his ADD-like nature took over at the sight of a shiny object sitting not too far from the merchant selling the items. Of which only added to Genis' awkward silence. Realizing his mistake, the teenage swordsman shook his head a few times. "Hey, that's a Key Crest!" The Exsphered hand rose to point at the shiny item beside a slightly shabby looking older man.

Said man turned his head in Lloyd's direction to look in surprise to see a customer standing before him. "What? Oh, you mean this piece of junk here, boy?" He picked up the Key Crest and examined it. "You really want this thing?" Lloyd nodded. "10,000 Gald, buddy."

"WHAT?! That's ridiculous!" Lloyd retorted angrily. "Talk about taking advantage of those in need…"

The man shrugged. "Whatever, kid. You can't pay it, you don't get it. That's the de—"

Calmly, Zelos stepped forward as the merchant spoke just to interrupt him: "Who runs this shop?"

By this point, with all the random questions people were asking him, the older man was getting pretty annoyed. "Who are you and why do you ask?" He demanded sourly.

Tapping his foot, also slightly ticked off at the man, the Chosen crossed his arms before his chest. "You have _got_ to be kidding me. Do you not recognize the Chosen when you see him? I ask because I will make sure whoever the hell is in charge of this place will never do business anymore. Either you give us that Key Crest, or both you and your boss will be ruined for life."

Complete and utter shock shown clear upon the merchant's face, the thought of his business getting worse than it already was frightened him senseless. "Ch-Chosen?! You're the—ah, of course you're the Chosen, my fine sir! I apologize deeply for not noticing that this wonderful man here was in your company. Please, take this junk—I-I mean, I humbly offer this Key Crest to you, oh great Chosen!" In his hands he held the Key Crest Lloyd had pointed out and drawn basically everyone's attention to. The merchant lowered his head, lifting his hands above it and out towards Zelos.

"There, there." The redhead patted the top of the man's head, lightly brushing it as not to get his hand that dirty. "You've made a good decision…I'll remember you." His last words seemed as if they boded well for the merchant, but the way the Chosen spoke them made those innocent words seem slightly more cruel than normal; leaving the salesman nervously chuckling as Zelos and his companions turned to leave the area.

Not long after the group left the shopping district, and Lloyd thanked Zelos for his intervention, did they return to the Imperial Research Academy building.

Upon entering and making their way back to the researcher they had spoken to previously, they mixed group passed by an auburn-haired man of somewhere from mid to late twenties speaking to a slightly familiar blond scientist. Lloyd caught sight of the man out of the corner of his eye and stopped to stare at his back, his face an expression of shock and slight disbelief.

Noticing his best friend's actions, Genis stopped walking as well as motioned to the others to pause for a few moments. "What's wrong, Lloyd?"

"Huh?" Lloyd asked, turning from the man. "Oh, do you think that guy kinda looks like Kratos?"

Genis turned his gaze to the man. The man in question had considerably longer hair than Kratos did when they last saw him, and Genis seriously doubted the mercenary-turned-angel could change his appearance so drastically in such a short span of time. "No, Lloyd, I—oh, no…" The silver-haired mage watched as his less intelligent friend strode up behind the auburn-haired man and was just about to tap his left shoulder when the older of the two spun around and pointed an axe-type weapon at Lloyd. He sighed, resigning himself to listening to their conversation from a far, safe distance.

"Kra—ah!" Lloyd began before the tip of the man's weapon appeared only inches away from his neck.

Dark green eyes glared at the boy behind thin framed glasses. "Who are you and why were you sneaking up on me?" To Lloyd, the voice was just a bit off from Kratos' normal tone, but he suspected and just plain assumed that Kratos did that on purpose so no one would recognize him as easily. Although to anyone else who had heard Kratos speak, it would be clear as day that the man was not Kratos at all.

"Huh? But, Kratos, it's me. Lloyd. Don't you—?"

"I do not know any 'Lloyd'," the man replied coldly, still threatening the brunette's safety with the blade of his axe. The blond behind him placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, causing the auburn one to lower his weapon slightly. "What is it, Aster?" He inquired of the young researcher.

That's why the younger of the two looked familiar to all in the Chosens' group who stood on the sidelines. He was the boy who had slapped Zelos' face earlier that day. The young boy's lime green eyes softened as he glanced at Lloyd fore a moment before returning his gaze to the oldest of the three. "Please, I don't think he means any harm." Aster gave a small smile accompanied by a soft laugh. "So put that away." Sighing a bit grudgingly, the man did as he was asked to do. Aster stepped to the man's side as to be closer to Lloyd. "I apologize, Sir, it's not every day my friend here interacts with outsiders."

"Ah, no, it's okay." Lloyd replied feeling embarrassed about his mishap. "I'm the one who should apologize. I mistook him for someone else. I haven't seen him in a while, so I guess my excitement got the better of me." The brunette swordsman's arm came up behind his neck and his mouth curved into an awkward grin. He then turned to Aster's friend and bowed deeply, surprising the other. "I'm sorry, Sir, I thought you were an old companion of mine." Straightening to look at the dark eyes of the man, Lloyd continued. "Please forgive my mistake."

The trio stood there in silence for what seemed a very long time to Lloyd until Aster nudged his friend to respond. "It's fine, Lloyd. I've never met this 'Kratos' you speak of, but I suppose he can't be that bad if he looks like me, right?"

His comment passed over Lloyd's head as a compliment to Kratos instead of a light joke from the speaker. The boy grinned happily. "Yeah, I guess. Are you a good guy too then?"

Once more the silence took them over, but this time Aster answered with a genuine smile. "I can assure you he is." His eyes sparkled slightly in the light of the building as the direction he faced shifted minimally towards his friend. "It was nice meeting you, Lloyd. I'm sure if we ever meet again the situation will be less awkward now that we're acquainted, wouldn't you say?" Lloyd nodded in response, accompanied by an excited 'yeah! You're right, uh…' Aster's expression turned confused for a moment. "Oh! Where are my manners? We know your name, but you don't know ours'." He extended his right hand out towards Lloyd. "I'm Aster and my tall, bespectacled friend here is Richter."

Richter looked over at the blond boy. "We need to be going, Aster. There's work to be done. Never have I heard of a research student who socialized more than you do."

His eyes closed for the few moments Aster laughed in response to Richter's statement, his hand returning to his side without having shaken Lloyd's at all. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, Lloyd, but I am needed else where." Aster politely excused himself to follow the auburn-haired male who had already started off down the hallway. "I hope we meet again. Bye!" With that, he turned to catch up to his friend. Immediately upon reaching him, Lloyd could hear the faint sounds of chatter coming from the younger in the pair.

A hand tapped Lloyd's shoulder, causing him to spin around quickly to see who was there. "Forget about your other friends while making a new one, huh, Lloyd?" The carefree tone of Tethe'alla's Chosen wondered.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Lloyd grinned sheepishly. "Aster's one interesting guy…and he sure is on who isn't afraid to talk to people." The way he spoke almost sounded like he was talking aloud to himself for a moment before he realized what he was doing. "Hey, do you know if I can ask to borrow a lab? I could fix this thing for Colette if they'd let me."

The redhead nodded once, then started up the nearby stairs and down the adjacent hallway.

Soon Lloyd had finished fixing the Key Crest they had found in the shop and left the borrowed lab the way it was. Once he regrouped with the others, Lloyd stood before Colette; the Key Crest in his right hand. "I didn't think I'd be giving you your birthday present like this, Colette, but…hey, at least it's finished now, right? Uh, so, here. It's got a Key Crest on it so it'll help you with that Cruxis Crystal." As he spoke, Lloyd placed the necklace around Colette's neck, but her expression didn't change at all. "Colette? Can you hear me, Colette?" Nothing. The brunette sighed. "Why didn't it work?"

"Well, you could ask Dirk for help," Raine started. "If we were still in Sylvarant, anyway."

Zelos immediately stepped into the conversation, both hands waving furiously in the air. "Hey there, hold on just on second you all! You're forgetting one teeny tiny crucial detail here." His hands placed themselves upon his chest as he continued on. "I'm here so I can keep tabs on all of you Sylvaranti. I can't possibly let you go back there now can I?" The Chosen of Tethe'alla's foot stomped soundlessly upon the ground to emphasize his point without causing too much of a disturbance.

The duel swordsman turned to him innocently. "Can't you just come with us oh great Chosen One?"

Zelos stepped back in shock. "Wha? You can not be serious, Lloyd!"

"I'm surprised," Raine commented, joining on the side of her student. "Aren't you the one always trying to be nice to girls? We need to save Colette as soon as we can."

Genis seemed to be muttering to himself, but his companions could all hear him clearly. "I knew he's no use at all. This guy only cares about himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he was willing to kill his own sister just to help himself out. If he—Ow!" The young mage landed roughly on the ground after being shoved by a ticked redhead Chosen of Mana.

Said male clutched the younger one's collar and held him up in the air so their eyes were level with each other. "Don't you _ever_ say things like that about _my_ sister _ever again_. Do I make myself clear, brat?" The Chosen growled practically each and every word he spoke to Genis. Raine's final comment to Zelos hit beneath his skin: "Since it's to save Colette, you'll keep quiet for us, right?" His grasp on the silver-haired boy's shirt loosened considerably as the mage fell directly to the ground. "…Tch, how am I supposed to say 'no' to that?"

Suddenly, a pair of Papal Knights randomly appears out of nowhere and one starts rambling untrue nonsense. "Pardon us, Chosen, but we hereby declare you and your companions here traitors of our great world by plotting to destroy it in unimaginable ways."

Sighing to himself, Zelos looked to the knights. "Your timing couldn't be better to help the Pope out, huh? I'm pretty sure you both heard what the circumstances for these words are, but choose to ignore that part, just to be able to accuse me."

The knights called in reinforcements, each of the new arrivals taking hold of the conspirators and pricking them with a needle. "Sir, we've found two matches!" One of the knights reported. Their leader faced Raine and Genis. "So, you two lowlifes think you can masquerade as humans, now do you?"  
"Wha-what?" Lloyd wondered in confusion. "What are you—"

Zelos stared in shock at the siblings. "You never said anything about being half-elves."

"What's that got to do with anything?!" The brunette demanded, beginning to get angry with all the weird talk going on around him. "Who cares if they're half-elves of whatever? Blood doesn't decide any—Ah! Hey, Zelos, what the heck?"

"Shut up for a second would you? These guys are just following the order of the caste system here in Tethe'alla. Any half-elf that is caught committing a crime is sentenced without trial." He shrugged as best he could while in the hold of a Papal Knight. "That's just the way it is, alright? Nothing anyone can do about it. Here, half-elves are the lowest of the low of the caste system."

The leader of the Papal Knights that were there began reciting the laws and their consequences, but it was clear by the first one that he was only doing so for the benefit of the human conspirators, for not once did he mention anything about half-elves getting a say in things. "Now, since these vermin are rumored to have magical abilities, you all will be kept down in the basement with the other half-elven trash while we escort these two to Meltokio. No exceptions, Chosen. You're a traitor as well so you will join them." His final comments were made only when he noticed Zelos about to open his mouth to remark about his social status' rights.

"Fine. I bet I'd have more fun down there with civil people rather than I would staying up here with barbarians anyway."

Almost immediately, the groups of "traitors" were either forced out the front door in order to go across the bridge or down into the basement where they soon met many half-elven researchers. Once the group, devoid of the Sage siblings, reached their destination, the door slammed shut behind them and they came face-to-face with about six to eight half-elves; all dressed in white lab coats.

"Lloyd!" A young voice shouted excitedly upon seeing the brunette. "I knew we'd see each other again, but why are you down here? This is for half-elves and some of their co-workers. You're not half-elven, are you? Not that I care, but why are you down here?" A certain blond head bobbed as he raced to Lloyd's side.

A woman quietly stepped forward while the others continued working. "Aster, do you know these people?"

The younger boy shook his head. "No, none of them are familiar to me except Lloyd, but I do recall seeing him talking to them earlier." Aster turned to the brunette. "Are they friends of yours' Lloyd?" Nodding, Lloyd remembered it was better just to let Aster do most of the talking when he was around. "Oh, wait, isn't she…Presea?"

The half-elven woman froze solid, only slowly turning to see who the boy meant. Her eyes fell upon the young, stoic child with pink ponytails who stared right back at her, but then silently turned her back to the half-elf. "H-hello again, Presea."

* * *

Does anyone remember who this woman is? I'm curious to know if you do or not.

Oh, and I apologize if Aster seemed weird. I don't really have that much to go on, you know? And also if he's too Seguchi-ish at some points, I apologize for that as well. Again, there's not much known about what Aster was like before Ratatosk.


	23. Kratos?

Here you go, the next chapter. See what happens when you review quickly? ^_^

* * *

Chapter 22

Lloyd and Zelos looked from Presea to Aster and the half-elven woman, then once more to each side. "How do half-elves like you guys know Presea?" The Chosen demanded, his eyes narrowing only slightly.

Out of nowhere a tip of a blade forced the redhead to raise his chin as not to draw any blood. "Just because he works down here does not give you any right to assume Aster is a half-elf." A cold, even tone informed the one whose neck the blade inched closer to. "It doesn't matter to me if you are the Chosen or not. If you hurt my friend at all, I won't hesitate to kill you."

A red eyebrow rose in disbelief. "Is that so?" The auburn-haired man nodded, not bothering to lower his sword one inch. "Well then, I guess I'll have a fight on my hands if I so much as pinch you." Zelos warned Aster lightly.

Said blond quickly stepped in between the older males, a hand swiftly grasping Richter's blade and gently shifting it away; as his lime green orbs bore into darker green ones. "Stop fighting, please. I'm sure the Chosen didn't mean his words in any negative way. Anyone would be surprised to hear a half-elf who can never leave this room knew their friend."

Everyone except Colette and Presea turned to the half-elven woman; the brunette male in his early teens wondered curiously: "Who are you and how do you know Presea anyway?"

"I am Kate," she told them. "I was given orders to be part of the research team that involved the manufacture of Cruxis Crystals inside human vessels. Theoretically, they are no different than Exspheres. By allowing them to slowly feed on the human body—"

"What about Genis?"

"Huh?" Zelos spun in the direction of the voice to see the normally reserved and silent pink-haired twelve-year-old looking expectantly at those of the present people she traveled with. "What was that my cure little rosebud?"

"Genis and Raine."

The sound of metal sliding against another surface met all of their ears, Richter only sheathing his sword after he quietly reprimanded Aster for slicing his hand on it. "Your half-elven companions, correct?" Presea nodded once in response. "We heard a commotion above about a pair of half-elves being discovered posing as humans who are to be taken to Meltokio and executed."

"EXECUTED?!" Lloyd repeated, his tone of someone who was quite shocked. "But, they didn't even know about the caste system. Zelos never bothered to warn us about—"

A random half-elven man wondered, his voice incredulous. "How wouldn't you know about the caste system?"

"Never mind that," Richter commanded right before the man was about to speak again. "Those kin of yours are in danger under lax charges, about to be murdered if no one goes to help them." His eyes transmitted a message as to say, "tell them anything and you'll be a dead man". The half-elf's head nodded only slightly before shutting his mouth tight.

Zelos stared at the dark-clothed researcher in shock. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, why do you want to help us?" As he spoke, the Chosen's hand gestured first to Richter then to himself; he representing his travel companions as well.

"Your friends are in danger, yes?"

"Yeah."

The older man raised an eyebrow in speculation. "Then why object to help?"

" 'Cause you said you were gonna frickin' kill me if I hurt your friend here," his voice beginning to sound slightly hysterical by this point.

Sighing, Richter strode over to the wall off to the right and behind Lloyd and Zelos. "Do you want to get out of here before your friends' corpses rot beneath the surface of this land?"

The Chosen cringed slightly, grimacing. "To put it in words someone like you can understand, 'hell no'."

A click sounded throughout the lab moments before part of the wall the swordsman shifted forward and to his side to reveal a hidden passage way. "Then I suggest you hurry up and go. This path will take you into the streets of Sybak by means of manholes." He paused for a moment to show Zelos that, despite the other's rude comment, the non-noble would remain civil for the time being. "Luckily for you, no one out there has a clue about what's happened within these walls, foolish Chosen One." Well, almost civil anyway.

The Chosen's group minus the Chosens and Presea didn't waste another moment just standing there, but rushed closer to the doorway leading to the surface instead. Slowly, Sylvarant's Chosen and her fellow female companion followed the others towards the exit. Zelos took this time to look directly at Kate. "By whose orders did you conduct such research?"

Looking away from him, Kate's eyes lowered to the ground. "I-I can't say."

"The Pope then." He assumed and hurried to join his new companions and friends. In fact, he ran so swiftly to his destination that he didn't notice he'd passed by the only brunette swordsman in the room who was standing in the doorway. Said male's chocolate eyes looked expectantly at Richter and Aster.

"Wha-what is it, Lloyd?" The blond wondered aloud whilst Richter simply thought the same question. At a hand motion to follow him to the pair, Aster glanced towards his best friend, and then turned to Lloyd. "I'm sorry, but both of us shouldn't leave. There's still much data to be discovered about our latest project. But…if it's alright with everyone in both parties I would like to tag along and make sure things run smoother than they normally would without a guide who knows his way around the lower areas of this city." His lime eyes shifted from Lloyd to Richter, the hope of their agreement shining brightly in them. With one curt nod from his best friend, Aster's lips formed a small smile. Then Lloyd grinned in confirmation that it would be fine. After all, it was his idea to ask both intellectual beings to come with them.

Aster removed his white lab coat to reveal a tan-ish white tunic lined with a thin blue stripe, semi-loose dark pants, and walking boots. Underneath the coat, like the rest of where his skin could be seen, his complexion rivaled that of his clothes. As he was in the process of folding it neatly and placing in an area that wouldn't inconvenience anyone else, Richter had left their sights briefly only to return with a large, sheathed sword in his hands. "Here," the older male thrust the weapon into the younger one's arms. "Be careful, alright?" Nodding, Aster armed himself with the blade, allowing it to rest behind him near his lower back. "Remember: only you can live your life."

The human sixteen-year-old looked up at his best friend, confidence radiating off his entire being. "I'll be fine, Richter, really. Besides, if I don't have courage, what good is there to thinking? After all, courage is the—"

"Magic that turns dreams into reality," the auburn-haired one finished the saying along with Aster. "Yes, I know."  
Lloyd tapped Aster's shoulder. "I'd really like to let you guys finish your good-byes and all that, but my best friend and his sister are currently walking to their deaths, so would you mind cutting things short?"  
"Lloyd may be right. I'll see you later, Aster." With that, Richter turned away and disappeared into the shadows of the lab. Which, to those who can't really see what it looks like, has many, many darkened areas about it.

* * *

Chains rattled in the distance, almost non-existent grunts in pain echoing throughout the entire room. Darkness fed the sound, making it taste even better to the blond, and Yggdrasill wallowed in the soft tears shed by the woman his former mentor supposedly loved. Even with every strike after strike, Kratos' battered, time slowly worn body didn't even visibly flinch. All he allowed himself to do was resist with all his being and never, ever give Yggdrasill the satisfaction of knowing he got to him.

Finally, after what seemed the thousandth strike to Anna's eyes, her love couldn't hold in the pain of his superior's retribution. "Speak, you lowly dog," the blond child commanded Kratos. Once again the piercing sensation of electricity coursed through the mercenary's veins. "Speak!" Ever so slightly, the auburn head shook in defiance.

Dark blue eyes watched as his almost brother-in-law beat upon his friend. _Kratos, I'm sorry, but I must leave you for now._ The half-elf thought, soon afterwards muttering "don't give up" practically half to himself and halfheartedly to the mercenary chained to the wall before turning his back on the scene and departing to the land of Tethe'alla.

"Please, stop!" Anna pleaded; her voice hoarse from her own, less painful, ordeal. "Can't you see that he's had enou—ah!" She flinched back in agony, one of Yggdrasill's techniques meant for Kratos striking the woman dead on. Her entire body shook rapidly, her eyes shying away from the sight that was Kratos.

Before the blond began the punishment he had in store for the angelic mercenary, Kratos' clothes shifted from the pristine white of his Seraph garb to the full-out purple ensemble he always wore when posing as a human mercenary down on either of the two worlds. Although as the state of his clothes were after the onslaught of various attacks from Yggdrasill, they could hardly be called "purple". Now, similarly to his skin shade, Kratos' clothes were in a deep, dark blackened state; the garments tattered and torn where as his skin was simply charcoaled more than one normally would be after a few high level fire spells. "You can end this all right now, Krattie," child Yggdrasill sneered, twisting Anna's nickname for Kratos into something vile and evil sounding instead of a name of affection and care. "Just say one word and I'll let you be for now to do whatever you'd like except stay by this wretch's side." The young boy taunted, stepping close enough for him to tilt Kratos' head up to look him straight in the eye. "One word is all it takes."

He could feel his wife's eyes on him, hoping to the Goddess Martel that he would speak at least once so all his pain could cease…at least for the time being. "Alright," the man's voice would only have sounded subdued to anyone but Yggdrasill.

Grasping his elder's collar, the ice blue eyes narrowed. "That's not the word you knew I was waiting for, but you're free to go for now." His mentor fell out of the boy's grip. "Now go find Yuan before he can cause any unnecessary trouble for us."

Standing as gracefully as any angel would after such a beating, Kratos bowed to the blond before turning and departing for his chambers. Despite the guilt he felt for leaving Anna there when he left, Kratos found the next warp taking him down to Tethe'alla's surface near an inn.

When he arrived, the sky had already turned practically pitch black save for the moon's shining down upon select parts of the world. Dressed in his Seraph clothes, Kratos attempted, and succeeded in keeping a low profile as he neared an inn about half way from The Grand Tethe'alla Bridge and The Fooji Mountains. Landing beside a window, Kratos immediately knew coming to that particular place was a huge mistake on his part. For in fact, inside the building, only a few windows over slept Lloyd. Flight caused less pain to the male, so he found himself floating along despite the fact his wings could be seen in complete darkness.

The sounds of the wind patterns awoke a certain brunette, whose attention span could only survive for so long without any kind of challenge being presented to him. A small spark shone out of the corner of his eye. "What is that thing?" He wondered, catching a glimpse of something small and shiny flickering in the grass below.

As quietly as he could, Lloyd crept down to the ground and went out to try to find the glittering thing he had seen. The object glinted in the moonlight as he ran over to it. Crouching down beside it. Lloyd realized that it was some kind of feather. His hand slowly reached down to pick it up, but as soon as he touched it, a burning sensation surged through his fingers and then up his arm. The longer he stayed in contact with it, the more it spread.

"What is this thing from?"

Eventually it was nearing his chest and becoming almost unbearable to handle, causing him to drop the feather. As it floated down to the ground, the blue-ish green feather slowly disintegrated into nothingness. His head turned from side to side as he looked around for the source of the feather. Sighing, he started back to his room at the inn.

Lloyd was about to open the door to his room when he heard some kind of footsteps inside. Slowly, he opened it, went as far as he needed to get inside, and then quietly shut the door. Looking around the room, his chocolate eyes rested on a silhouette of a man beside the window. "Kra—?" The teenager got cut off by a light shinning in his face. He brought a hand up to shield his eyes.

After the light dimmed down to the normal level as per night in Tethe'alla, the brunette teen was left by all alone in the sleeping space. Taking the few steps that it took to reach his bed, Lloyd dropped down onto it and landed on something hard. Quickly getting to his feet, the boy's body spun around to try and figure out what he had sat down upon.

"A…dagger?" The teen wondered aloud, lifting the weapon. Unsheathing it, Lloyd noticed a small piece of paper drift down from his sheath-holding hand. Setting both the dagger and its sheath down upon the bed, the boy sat beside all three objects. Taking the paper in his hands, Lloyd unfolded it. It read:

_Dear Lloydan,_

"_If you are reading this, you have reached Tethe'alla and I am no longer with you. If you would, take a close look at the blade."_

"'Aurion'? Kratos was here then, wasn't he?" Shaking his head to clear it, the du**e**l-swordsman continued with his reading of the letter.

"_You may recognize this weapon, and there's a reason. This dagger is the same weapon my father gave to me as a child. Now I am giving it to you. I will not be able to stay by your side, but do not think I have abandoned you. Know that as long as you have this dagger by your side, I, too, will be there…perhaps even longer than that object considering I will never willingly leave your side. Don't worry, for I truly see you as the son I never had the opportunity to cherish._

_Your Lost Companion,_

_Kratos Aurion_

Lloyd just stared down at the paper in disbelief. Moments later he noticed Kratos had repeated written and erased the closing of his letter. Faintly seen below "lost" was the letter "f". _Friend? Is that what he wanted to write here? That he considers us friends?_ It made him wonder, not only that one question, but many others. "Just what does he think he's doing giving me this?" At that moment, a smaller piece of paper fell from the brunette's grasp. "Wha?"

"_Look out your window."_

Following the written instructions, Lloyd's head rose to gaze out the window. When he did so his set of chocolate eyes met a pair of auburn ones staring unblinkingly at him. "Why—? What are you—? Kratos?"

"Hello, Lloyd."

Reaching behind him as subtly as he could manage, so he could keep his eyes on the man, Lloyd took a hold of the dagger's hilt. "Why are you here, you traitor?" He demanded, keeping his dagger-holding hand behind him.

Kratos sighed almost silently to himself, his body too worn out to do much of anything else. "Set it down, Lloyd. I do not wish to harm you, nor am I here on Lord Yggdrasill's orders." It wasn't exactly the truth, nor was it a lie. Yggy did say he could go anywhere he pleased and the blond wouldn't care as long as it didn't involve Anna. Never did he mention anything forbidding him of seeing his son.

Lloyd replied, unmoving from where he was. "Heh, what kind of greeting is that? Do you always tell people something like that?" Then, as an after thought, the boy added. "Or am I just special."

"Can I not come to talk to you? Besides the object behind you, I—"

"What, do you mean this?" Lloyd held up the paper in his left hand. "Why was it inside the sheath if you didn't want me reading it?"

"Lloyd, you mis—"

"Let me talk, okay?" The brunette demanded, the tip of the dagger peaking out from behind his back. "Why did you decide to get so near to me when Professor Sage is the one who doesn't trust other people easily?"

The angel closed his eyes briefly for a moment before reopening them to gaze in somewhat annoyance with the teen sitting before him, but the cause of basically all of his annoyance ended up to be Yggdrasill's fault, not Lloyd's. "You are aware that you are in no position to question me, but ask anything you'd like. If it is within reason, I shall answer." Silence fell over the pair as Lloyd stared at the mercenary. "If you read it, you would know."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?! All it said was not to blame you for betraying us all. That and something about a son you never had or something." Lloyd's grip on the dagger tightened in his slowly developing anger, his eyes just beginning to smolder.

On the opposite side of the scale, Kratos' demeanor couldn't have been colder. "In the past, you have mentioned I seem like family to you. I simply wanted to let you know that view is not only held by yourself."

The darker haired male stared at the angel in complete and utter confusion. "…What?" He asked, the hand holding Kratos' dagger finally coming forward. "Don't go making up excuses, got it? I would think that you've lied to me enough, you jerk."

If it were anyone but Kratos in his current position, they probably would have either gotten fed up with Lloyd's assumptions and left or put up their hands in defeat at his final words.  
As I have already told you, I do not wish any harm to come to you. Now if you would put that away." Lloyd shook his head, his brown eyes glaring up at Kratos. The man sighed. "It doesn't surprise me to see that you didn't notice I came here unarmed. Your skills of deduction never were quite as good as they could, or rather should, be."

Brown eyes shifted to Kratos' hip to see that the man did indeed not have any weapon of any sort with him. "Huh?" His gaze returned to his mentor. "Why the heck did you come here without it?"

"That would be because I trust you won't be stupid enough to attack me," He replied evenly.

Lloyd gave him another look of pure confusion. "But, if you're of Cruxis, why do you say you trust me? Aren't I your enemy?"

Although it caused him slight pain in his shoulders to do you, Kratos shrugged in indifference. "To Cruxis, yes. Is that that the only reason you believe we are enemies?"

The teenager hesitated for a moment, thinking over the other's words for once. "No, I-I don't see you as a definite enemy." He thought he heard a sigh of relief come from Kratos' lips, but then his mind over-rid that idea by reminding himself that this was Kratos and Kratos never shows any emotion what-so-ever because he's a wall with the way he shows any kind of emotion he may be feeling or even so much of an angel that he was like Colette and couldn't feel anything at all: emotionally or physically. At least, Lloyd had his suspicions. "It's just that you worked behind our backs and betrayed us and all that other stuff."  
"That is not and answer."  
"Wha-what do you mean 'not an answer'? Of course it's an answer!"

"You tell me I'm not your enemy and yet you still are defensive and quick to strike. You didn't bother to make sure my words were lies or truth, but instead immediately decided that I came here to harm you," Kratos explained tonelessly.

Although he didn't try to make his words sound any more negative than they already did by themselves, Lloyd took them to be reprimanding words. "…I don't really get all that, but I got it," he replied, nodding confidently anyway.

Kratos thanked his angelic attributes quite often, for when he sighed yet another time during their conversation his lungs didn't ache as badly as they did earlier. "Why is it you don't want to learn in school?"

"Huh? Oh, because it's way too boring just sitting there and listening to Professor Sage talk on and on about the most pointless things. I mean, seriously, who needs to learn about some dead guy named Mithos who supposedly saved the world? That's just about as helpful to us as knowing the rest of history for that matter. Or how to translate all that stuff Professor Sage has, I—"

"That's enough, Lloydan." Kratos commanded; his voice colder than usual. It was kinda as if the brunette swordsman had touched upon a sore spot for his teacher by mentioning Mithos the Hero's name. "You know I told that idiot Kvar this and you should heed my words as well. Do not—"

"'Speak ill of the dead'. Yeah, yeah, I know, Kratos, I know. Man, you almost sound like Genis when you talk like that," the younger complained, leaning back onto the bed with his hands; the dagger still held loosely in his left. The mercenary questioned that Lloyd explain why he did so just then. "What, you mean when I said who needs to learn about some dead guy who—"

"Exactly. Do you know how the Hero Mithos saved the world?"

"Um…because he made a pact with the Goddess Martel and—"

Kratos held up a hand to signal Lloyd to cease. "Alright then, you can stop explaining. I know the rest. I, unlike you, actually paid attention in my youth."

Lloyd grimaced slightly before smirking back at the elder male. "Yeah, but when was that? Before the Kharlan War even started?" He chuckled at his own joke, not really caring if Kratos laughed along with him or not considering who it was. It didn't affect him in the slightest that Kratos seemed to have a look on his face as if he was really giving Lloyd's joke some thought. As he continued to laugh, the grip his hand had on the dagger loosened enough so that it remained on the bed when the teenager stood and stepped closer to his former companion, watching the man expectantly as his laughter calmed down enough for silence to ensue. "Well?"

The mercenary stared at the boy in slight confusion, even though it didn't seem like it, for a few moments. ". . .What?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, but my dad sometimes told me stories when I was a kid." Lloyd responded somewhat childishly. "So I guess I was kinda waiting for you to finish telling the story…could you though?"

* * *

Ah, you'll never guess what's coming up next. so Please Review and I may update faster than before.


	24. Promises of Things Yet To Come

New Chapter! New Chapter! Yay! ^_^ See? Reviews make me happy which in turn gives you more chapters to read and review, and the cycle shall continue until this ends.  
I haven't said this in a while have I?  
**I NO OWN Tales of Symphonia or anything related to that. Namco does. **So be nice?

* * *

Chapter 23

Lloyd had mentioned a few days before they reached Hima that Genis found out things about the Great Kharlan War that no other books had information on. Once more he brought up the book Kratos had absent-mindedly given Genis to translate so long ago. Even the title was written in the foreign tongue, so Lloyd could barely remember it. Hearing Lloyd's most recent question, the auburn-haired mercenary thought in silence for a moment. "There are books that say one thing, but another that tells the exact opposite occurred. I would confuse you too much by trying to explain what they say because both versions seem to be accurate." At that the teen suggested he go awaken the elder Sage sibling and ask her opinion, but Kratos' immediate reply discouraged that thought before it could even take flight.

Looking determinedly into Kratos' eyes, "I'll try to comprehend everything you tell me. So can you explain what you know about the Hero Mithos?"

Kratos raised an eyebrow in slight apprehension at the boy's words. "One of the descriptions of his three companions I found in my early years around fifteen-sixteen years old, and the other was more recent from about two or three years ago." The man remarked, his voice monotone. What Lloyd didn't know was that the man standing before him, dressed as one of the Four Seraphim of Cruxis, knew both accounts' authors personally. "Which first?" Lloyd's head tilted to the side, lost in thought for a moment before remarking that the more recent one would be a more up-to-date description than the other one Kratos mentioned. "If that's what you decide, then I shall begin." The brunette nodded firmly, making sure to try and remain silent as his idol recounted the story he had read.

"The Hero Mithos' companions were two males and one female. As far as the author knows, only three of the four survived the war. The three survivors were a pair of swordsmen and an axe wielder. Of the four, the woman was a kind and gentle healer. Her brother, despite his complex, was as hard and cruel as flint or flame. One of their two companions resulted in becoming engaged to the sole female traveler. That man's weapon was the axe. The fourth and final companion, who had no relation to any of the other, was mentor to the one called Mithos. He taught Mithos in the way of the blade, for when they met Mithos knew nothing of battle. The man spoke in riddles and complemented others rarely, even his own pupil. Mithos' appearance, as well as those of his companions, is not known. Other than this, the rest of this author's words can be disregarded as nonsense."

Lloyd stared in silence, having never heard anything about the Hero Mithos' companions other than what Genis told him. And of that he mostly spoke of only Mithos the Hero. "…Is that all of the newer one then?" His eyes appeared as though he was trying to understand all Kratos had told him. He breathed in slowly to retain all the information, and then released his breath in the same manner. Breathed in…and then out again. "Okay. What about the other one? The one you found when you were…twenty-eight subtract fifteen…twelve or thirteen years old." His voice grew quieter as he calculated the number of years Kratos had said he had found the earlier version.

"Are you sure you're ready to try to understand both?" The brunette nodded confidently. "One would think you're not prepared to comprehend even what I've already told you with the way you listen in school." At this Kratos received a glare from the boy, a "hurry up and tell me" added along with it. "Alright." The mercenary paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts as well as trying to think of a way to explain it all in a way the young teen would understand well. "It is said that Mithos and his companions, while they were trying to end the war, were foolish children whose ideals would never work in the world. The four were striving to bring an end to the war going on around them as well as discrimination. The latter could be seen in small ripples wherever the group went, and—"

"Wait a second. 'End discrimination"? What's that got to do with the Great Kharlan War?"

If he had asked that question to anyone other than the battered Seraphim standing before him, they would have probably slapped him for interrupting and then continued on with the story. However, Kratos merely kept his emotions hidden behind his mask and didn't move at all; his wounds slowly healing. "If you wait, you may understand that question," he responded, glancing out at the sky through the window. "The four companions' choices of weaponry were a staff, a double-sided axe, a small barrowed dagger, and a double-edge sword. Of the small band of misfits, the sole woman was a sensitive, caring, but also determined, healer and staff user. Her long, pale-green hair and ocean blue eyes only added to the serene way she conducted herself. The kindness she showed to all was due to the love and close bond she felt with her younger brother, Mithos.

"Mithos, although he would be considered a boy by most, eventually learned to wield the dagger lent to him by his teacher. The young boy, some knew as Mithos, hadn't been raised by his parents for reasons unknown. This resulted in him developing quite a sister-complex that caused him to change when she died in the war. His blue orbs truly became the sea they appeared to be as he watched his older sister fall at the hand of both armies as she tried to stop the war, his blond hair fell as a curtain across his face—"

"Can you stop for a second, Kratos?" The auburn-haired man nodded, once again not reacting negatively to Lloyd's interruptions. "How do you know all of this?" In response to what Lloyd took as a look of confusion, he continued. "I-I mean, there's not many people who could know the Hero Mithos' reaction, much less what they looked like. 'Cause no one can live that long, right? Genis mentioned that not even elves can survive for over two-thousand years."

Kratos' shoulders rose and fell just a bit in a small shrug. "It was in the book. If he is to be believed, the author was present during the war."

Lloyd's eyes widened to the size of saucers, his voice filled with surprise. "He survived to tell the story?" Kratos nodded once. "Wow…"

"As I was saying, the siblings had a pair of companions. Both were around the same age as Mithos' sister. The difference between them, other than their personalities, was their race. One was an auburn-haired human, but the other a cerulean-haired half-elf. The two had, at first, hated each other but eventually came to be friends.  
"The half-elven axe-wielder is said to have been quite the mischief maker even as he grew older. If he knew some kind of secret of yours, then you were advised to try and keep yourself on his good side." A chuckle escaped Kratos' lips at that point, remembering something from his past that Lloyd knew nothing of. "He was kind of like Genis, in a way, actually," he commented before continuing on with his story. "This half-elven man, as he traveled with the others, was always at ends with the Hero Mithos. They would fight over the tiniest, most inconsequential of things until one of their friends, more often the swordsman than Mithos' sister, would intervene."As it was, Mithos' elder sister died in the war. She had gotten separated from her companions in battle, but when the others located her it was already too late. Mithos, thinking the world would end if she died, pleaded his teacher to heal her. Unable to aid her, the man turned and started away alone. The axe-wielder attempted to persuade his friend to try again; himself not wanting to see his fiancée die either. However, the human didn't listen and left the battlefield, taking out his anger at himself on anyone who crossed his path."The one who dies soon became a heroine for the entire world. For years later her name became a symbol of hope, almost as a goddess would be."

Kratos' voice ceased and the teen's chocolate eyes looked at him in confusion. "Is-is that it?" Kratos nodded. "Does it say what the woman's name was?"

"Martel."

The boy began to nod in understanding but stopped midway. "What'd you say?" Lloyd asked, still very much confused. "I thought you said her name was—"

"Martel."

"Yeah, that's what I thought I heard you say. But that couldn't be right, 'cause that would mean that the Goddess Martel we all know about is…the Hero Mithos' sister. How could he make a pact with her if she wasn't really a goddess?"

It seemed to be that Lloyd didn't even take into account the fact that the woman Martel Kratos spoke about was a half-elf, but then the man realized why that was: Lloyd didn't care what race she was at all. "By making a promise to her."  
"What promise was that? Or doesn't it say in the book?"

To anyone else, Kratos' expression wouldn't have seemed to change before he gave his next answer, but Lloyd noticed the slight difference in the way Kratos' gaze faltered to be directed right at him. It was as if the mercenary's next words brought him back to a time he wanted sorely wanted to forget, but couldn't. "It was that he would put an end to the discrimination against half-elves."

The brunette watched as Kratos turned to leave through the same window the teenager knew he had originally come. "W-wait!" He protested, instinctively reaching out to grab Kratos' right arm. Dark eyes turned to stare at the teen in slight surprise, for the Seraphim really didn't think Lloyd would try to stop him from leaving when the time came. And after Yggdrasill's last punishment, he found himself more willing than usual to remain in one place. "I…I have one more question. Do you mind?"

His eyelids lowered to cover red-tinted brown eyes as Kratos shook his head. "What is it?"

"What. . .was the Hero Mithos' human companion like?" Rarely was Lloyd ever shy to ask anyone anything, but at this point what Kratos had already told him about the other Great Heroes unnerved him a bit; mostly by their greatness. "All you said about him was that he wielded a double-edged sword, didn't show that much emotion, and had auburn hair. Is there anything else you know about him?"

Kratos began to turn away from the young dual swordsman once more in order to hide the one emotion he had never really been that good at suppressing: embarrassment. "That question will have to wait for another time, Lloyd. Someone approaches your door. Farewell." With that, the worn out swordsman opened the window, released his wings, stepped out onto the ledge, and flew out into the barely brightening sky. "Good bye, Lloydan," he murmured to himself, a rare smile showing on his features. "I'm sure she'll be glad to hear you're doing well."

Chocolate eyes gazed out his inn room window until no traces of his former companion could be seen. After that it didn't take long for him to shake himself out of the trance he had accidentally fallen into watching Kratos' wings and turn back towards his bed. Only when he reached it and saw the dagger lay upon the covers did he wonder why Kratos kept calling him "Lloydan". That is, until the faint knocking of flesh-covered-bone on wood reached his ears and he hurried over to open the door. "Aster? Wha-what're you doing up here this early? I would've thought you would rather sleep in, not wake up at dawn."

The blond boy's lime eyes scanned the inside of the room, a sigh falling from his lips. "I thought I heard you talking to someone, but I guess I was—hey, what's that?" Aster stepped by Lloyd and over to his bed, where Kratos' dagger still lay. Picking it up and analyzing it for a short span of time, he turned excitedly to Lloyd. "I didn't know you had a relic of the Great Kharlan War, Lloyd. Why didn't you mention it before?" His gaze once more fell upon the weapon in his hands. "This blade was made so long ago…It's really amazing it still can be used in battle. Ah, see this? This engraving here tells what family it belonged to way back then. Now, I don't think blacksmiths make swords with this anymore. They just forge them to be sold." As he spoke, the rate his words formed sped up until Lloyd had a bit of trouble even keeping up with what the researcher was even saying. "You see, back during the Great Kharlan War, a family's belongings were quite important so they had their surname carved or engraved into everything." With his opposite, empty, hand the younger human boy took the sheath and examined that as well. "Oh, wow, Lloyd. These are in excellent condition! I apologize if I this sounds like an insult, it's really not meant to be, but I'm kinda surprised you have kept these in the condition they're in up until now…" He paused for a second during his freaking out moment. Turning to look directly at the dual swordsman, Aster's expression shifted from excited to sincerely apologetic. "I'm sorry, Lloyd, I completely forgot my manners there for a second." He slowly placed the items back where they were and strode over to the doorway, once more striding past the brunette. Turning to face him, Aster calmed down considerably to ask politely if he could come inside the room and view Lloyd's weaponry. A chuckling dual swordsman nodded in reply, just to see Aster practically fly over to the bed once more. This time though, his attention was drawn to the piece of paper beside them. "What's this?" The blond started to reach for the paper before it suddenly disappeared into thin air.

"What's what?" Lloyd wondered, quickly stashing the letter into his pocket. "I don't see what you're talking about."

Bright green eyes slowly shifted up and over to gaze at his elder suspiciously. "Uh huh…right. Anyway, was one of your ancestor's surnames 'Aurion', Lloyd?" The brunette shook his head, some of his spikes shifting in the slight wind. "Then how do you have this?" He held up the dagger in which the surname of "Aurion" was engraved.

"An old friend of mine gave it to me, that's all."

The young researched nodded once in understanding. "Then this friend of yours is a descendant of someone who lived in the time of the Great Kharlan War? That's great! Can you introduce me to him? Your friend is a he, right?" Once more, Aster's speech rate sped up in his excitement. "But anyway, would I be able to—?"

"Hey, uh, Aster?"

"Yeah? What is it, Lloyd?"

"How long can angels live?" Lloyd wondered, the tone of his voice somewhat subdued. His curiosity spiked when the blond had mentioned that only families back in the time of the Great Kharlan War engraved their last names into things because what Kratos had written to him about the dagger being the mercenary's father's. "Like, what's the average lifespan of one?"

Aster's expression changed to one of slight but obvious confusion, his body shifting back as his right leg stepped behind him. "An ANGEL? The lifespan of an angel could range somewhere from a thousand to ten thousand centuries, Lloyd, and that's only a guess. No one knows the true lifespan of an angel. Some people don't think they even exist…Why do you ask?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No, never mind." Silence fell upon the pair for a while until a thought came to the dual swordsman. "What was your reason for coming up here in the first place anyway?" He wondered randomly.

"Oh, Miss Sage asked me if I could come wake you up," Aster responded calmly. "She mentioned something about you being a heavy sleeper as well as a lazy bum." A slight smile appeared on his lips as he spoke, but Lloyd barely noticed it because of the words that came from Aster's mouth. The seventeen-year-old spun around and dashed out the door, yelling "Professor Sage!" at the top of his lungs. Aster's smile widened, his gaze once more resting on the dagger and sheath. "I can't believe a guy like Lloyd would have the dagger the Hero Mithos barrowed from his teacher." His lime eyes light up with excitement at the thought of the brunette's friend being a descendant of such a great human warrior. "Aurion. . .Ah! No, it can't be him!"

"Can't be whom?" The cold tone of a man in about his late twenties questioned.

Aster turned towards the far corner of inn bedroom. "Wha-what're you doing here, Mr. Kratos?" His hold on the dagger tightened slightly, for he didn't have his own sword with him at that exact moment. "I would've thought you'd be out searching for new discoveries of this wonderful world we all live in; not following Lloyd Irving."

Kratos stepped out of the shadows of the corner, his gaze stone cold. "If you wouldn't mind refraining from speaking to Lloyd about the origins of that blade, I will not bother you any more with my presence. I am aware you know exactly how long that blade has been in existence and whose first name should be engraved on the opposite side of it. Lloyd, on the other hand, has no use for such information. Please understand I have nothing against you or your line of work, young Aster. I simply do not wish for Lloyd to know much about that dagger except for what I have already told him…Farewell." The angelic mercenary turned towards the window to leave the land Tethe'alla for the day but was stopped by the quiet request from Aster to wait one more moment.

"I would like a yes or no answer to this question of mine. I swear I will not tell anyone about either the question or your response to it if you so choose to grace me with one." Kratos twisted the upper half of his body to get a better look back at the young human. Aster's eyes stared unblinkingly at the auburn-haired man. "Are you an angel?"

* * *

A blue-haired man paced back and forth a short distance from an inn on the surface of Tethe'alla; the moon known as Sylvarant shinning high in the sky. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail and his long dark cape flowed behind him as he moved. Sounds of motion hit his pointed ears the moment the owner of the noise reached the grass beside the beaten path. "What took you so long, Chosen?"

A hand rose to flip his long red hair behind his shoulder immediately after the younger male ceased walking towards the other. "What, I had a bit of trouble getting away, okay? Man, are you Cruxis guys always so up tight all the time? I mean, first him and now you too? Is this an organization-type quirk or just one that you get after you lose the ability to age?" The redhead's attitude was lax, as if he didn't fear any danger coming to him while in the presence of the cape-wearing half-elf. "Sheena and Raine can be really annoying when they question you about every single detail of where I'm going so late at night."

The half-elf nodded, understanding slightly about very curious women. _She always liked to know where I was going too, even if it was as bright as the day was going to get. Then again, times have changed quite a bit since then._ "I trust no one has any idea of your alliance with us?"

Zelos shook his head, smirking openly. "Nope, not a chance. The only one who might have known was this one half-elf we met back in Sybak's Imperial Research Academy, but he's not with us now. He seemed like a really intelligent guy." _For a half-elf_, he finished in his mind. "But anyway, why the hell'd you call me out here? Are the plans still running as they should be?"

A curt nod gave the Chosen of Tethe'alla the answer he was…counting on. He did not hope for anything anymore, not after what being the Chosen was like for him. "Of course, Chosen, just because we're half-elves doesn't mean our operations can go awry so easily." His lips tilted up in a shadow of a smile. "Do you expect anything less from us, oh great human?" The sarcasm dripping from his voice could be heard by both parties.

With a shrug of his shoulders, the Chosen thought of yet another question. "So why did you call me out here? Just to annoy me? 'Cause I have pals in higher places that you that I can get to hunt you down and—"

"And kill me?" His tone still quite sarcastic, the blue-haired male completed Zelos' sentence for him. "I doubt that's possible, you young…fool." Suddenly, his cerulean eyes clouded for a moment, a grim frown appearing for only a moment. Once his vision seemed to clear, the man shook his head to return to the present. "I am sincerely sorry," he began, pausing for a moment during which the redhead remarked "yeah, sure, whatever". "But there may be complications if he realizes I'm here. I bid you farewell, Zelos, Chosen of Tethe'alla."

Zelos nodded, realization dawning on him as well as he felt the presence of yet another of Cruxis' Seraphim in the near vicinity. "Got 'cha, Yuan. Later." He turned and hurried back to the inn, running at a speed no other human had ever attempted to, or could, go. However, before he got in range of Raine's sight from where she stood at in the inn's doors, the shallow male slowed to a normal walk. _Man, these guys are such a frickin' pain, sometimes, but whatever. A guy's gotta do what he can to win, right? Kratos understands that small fact at the very least. Otherwise he wouldn't be hanging out by Lloyd _and_ Yggdrasill simultaneously. It's common sense to go to with the winning side after all…_ "Well hello there, my beauty," he greeted upon reaching the inn doors. "You didn't wait here all this time for me, did you?" his tone was sincere, but his actions of halting, stepping back slightly, and placing a hand over his heart were nothing but simple acting skills he had acquired over the years of being the Chosen. "_Remember, Zelos, just look out for number one at all costs…"_ He scampered by Raine and into his room without waiting for her response. Once he was sure no one could hear him, the words he always repeated each night slipped out of his mouth to reassure him he was doing the right thing. "Just look out for number one…"

* * *

The blond quietly shut the door behind him, leaving the empty span of space that Lloyd had stayed over night in as his lime gaze scanned the hallway. He sighed, the image of a certain auburn-haired male coming to mind. _I wonder how Richter's doing back in Sybak…it's been a while since I've seen him let alone talked to him. I hope he's eating well and all that. _"Maybe I should go back to the lab soon…"

"Why ever would you want to do that?"

Aster spun around to face the speaker, eyes widening upon seeing who had spoken to him. "Ma-master Zelos, what are you doing up here? I thought you specifically asked for a first floor room."

Zelos shrugged. "That didn't stop you from coming up here to visit Lloyd…" a slightly perverted smirk slowly slipped onto his lips, arms criss-crossing in front of his chest. "You're not like _that_ are you?"

Neither of the two spoke for a while, both of them staring at each other; Zelos in a way that seemed he wasn't going to leave unless Aster gave him an answer and Aster simply stared at the Chosen in confusion. Then sudden realization dawned on the younger human male. "No! I don't like Lloyd like that."

The redhead's smirk widened. "Oh, so you _are _like that just not towards Lloyd."

"Ah-I-That-That's not what I meant and you know it, Chosen," the blond responded, the coloring of his face tinting slightly towards the other's clothes as the image of his friend once more appeared in his mind's eye. "I don't like him like that and I never will. Besides, even if I did he'd never like me back. We're just friends, okay? There is no other reason for us to be around each other besides work, alright?"

This time, it was the Chosen's turn to be confused. "Wait, I was asking about Lloyd. Who're you talking about?" Aster froze for a few moments, and then hurried off down the staircase to mingle with their other companions. Zelos chuckled, watching the younger's actions. "Kids are so lively these days."


	25. Rengades, Desians, and Cruxis?

Yes, after so long I have finally finished typing the next chapter! Rejoice all!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own ToS or it's characters. NOTHING.

* * *

Chapter 24

_"Are you an angel?" _The young boy's voice continuously echoed throughout Kratos' mind at the worst points during his return journey to Cruxis…and Yggdrasill. In fact, almost immediately after his foot made contact with the pure white floor did a pair of run-of-the-mill angels take a hold of each of his arms and proceeded to carry him to Yggdrasill's control room. _Yes and no. I am an angel in the sense that I can no longer age, but I am by no means an angel any other way._

"Kratos," the blond half-elven man began softly as the three entered, a hand motioning for the others to leave the two of them alone for the time being. "You have disappointed me, my dear teacher. Not only have you failed to comply with my wishes on multiple occasions, but now are completely disobeying direct orders. Clearly, you need a more drastic lesson in this area." Two of the child's fingers slid off the other resulting in a loud snap; the signal for a pair of plain paneling of the wall to Kratos' right slowly slide away from each other to reveal Anna. "Perhaps she can help me?" It wasn't a question, nor was it really a threat. However, it was clear the human woman would indeed suffer for her husband's "transgressions" by the way she was already bound by her hands to the wall above her head from where she sat cross-legged.

_No. Not Anna._ Footsteps reached the boy's ears just as they began to sound, Kratos nearing where he stood with a hand upon the side of the nearby wall. "Do whatever you want with me, but refrain from harming Anna," the auburn male ordered solemnly. "She has done nothing to you."

Yggdrasill chuckled, an evil smirk lighting upon his features. "You think you can command me, Kratos?" Another snap filled the empty air, and Anna's wide brown eyes slowly closed, her head sharply falling to rest near her right shoulder. "You should know better than to cross me, human," he growled, narrowed icy eyes staring directly at his former mentor.

However tight his clothes may or may not have seemed, young Yggdrasill abruptly found himself held in the air by means of his neck surrounded by a firm hand. "What did you do to her?" Surprisingly, said hand did not belong to the ever-calm Kratos he had been for the past several hundred years but a slight glint in the elder male's eyes told him he had accidentally awakened the ancient hero of the Kharlan War.

"You thought you could have a happy ending didn't you?" A hint of his true sadistic nature could be heard within the blond's tone as he spoke. "Heroes in fiction get to have those, Kratos. If you haven't noticed, **none of us** will **ever** get to have the normal 'happy ending' everyone desires." Despite his position, the boy was abnormally calm; if not somewhat feeling superior. "Not Yuan. Not Martel. Not me." The boy paused, chuckling slightly. "And definitely **not you**. You who should have died so many years ago, without even meeting that miserable human woman, and been buried alongside your weak, **human** parents." Yggdrasill ignored the steady decrease of space between his neck and Kratos' hand, and openly smirked at him. "She's dead, Kratos." The boy whispered. "How does that make you feel?"

"Kratos, calm down!"

Both males turned their heads towards the only entrance to the room. "Yuan…you dare enter here without my permission?" They all thanked their superior hearing at that moment, for the young child's disbelieving voice could barely be called a whisper. Crystalline rainbow wings sprouted from his back, suspending him in the air for a moment after suddenly being released from his captor's grip, in order for him to settle back down upon the surface silently and gently.

The blue-haired half-elf bowed low to his superior before striding a bit closer to the pair of angels before him. "May I have permission to talk to Kratos alone for a few moments, Lord Yggdrasill?" A moment passed as he thought about his answer, and then Yuan received a curt nod of agreement. "Thank you."

"Get out of here, both of you." His frozen gaze met the other's ocean one steadily. "You will have him for five minutes. Then you are to return him here."

* * *

…The Chosens' group were just about to leave the inn to continue on their way when Genis paused for a moment. "By the way, why is Sheena here?" He wondered, having not had the time to ask the rest of them after Raine and he had been freed from the Papal Knight's clutches. And, as usual, when one person in the party stopped moving everyone else did too in order to chat for a bit.

Seeing no one else planned to answer, Sheena thought for a moment on how to phrase it. "…I have orders from my chief. I'm supposed to observe your activities."

Zelos scoffed slightly, his tone as playful as always. "Typical of Mizuho for you. Can you all no do anything without trying to decide what team to side with? I mean, it's pretty obvious as to what you'd choose if you ninjas wanted to stay on the King's good side."

"Do we really have two people keeping tabs on us now?" A certain brunette dual swordsman wondered, a whining tone coloring his voice.

Sheena turned on him, her hands open with palms facing out between the her and the others closest to her. "But I'm not trying to do anything or get in your way or-or anything! So…so…would you mind not questioning my village so much?"

Raine gazed at the sole talkative female gently. "We know that already," she responded just as calmly, "You're an honest person…perhaps to a fault."

"At this point, I'm okay with anything, so can we hurry up and get to the Fooji Mountains?" Lloyd asked, kind of confused at all the talk of different things.

Zelos chuckled in his usual, slightly disturbing way as a hand drew small circles in the air before him. "Heheh, just leave that to me! I prepared a secret weapon just in case something like this happened."

"What secret weapon?"

Tethe'alla's Chosen smirked down at the half-elven genius. "Now now, midget. There's no way it could be fun if I ruined the surprise now! Let's just get going." With a fancy flourish of his hand, the pink-wearing male pointed in their desired direction. "To the Fooji Mountains!"

As he left the rest in the dust, both Aster and Genis watched him with disapproving looks upon their faces; the researcher's slightly more concealed than the other's. "I can't believe we're gonna have to climb that stupid mountain again..."

The rest of their party sighed upon hearing Lloyd's complaint except for the blond teenager who hadn't quite gotten used to traveling with such people yet. "I have a feeling you were excited about this place earlier, but now think it's just too troublesome to go back the way you came, right?" All eyes turned to stare in shock at the young boy. "...What? Lloyd just seems like that kind of guy."

With that being said they all followed Zelos' lead back to the Fooji Mountains, which took them maybe an hour or so to walk over to. Upon their arrival, everyone one of them noticed small-time monsters roaming around on the path up the mountain. "So monsters really started to appear… But the regeneration ritual wasn't complete, right?" The summoner wondered. "So what's going on?"

"…If it's not caused by a decline in mana, then it may be the work of Cruxis."

Lloyd looked towards his teacher in surprise. "But why would they do that? So they can try and hurt Colette? Can Cruxis even do something like that?"

Raine shrugged, continuing on her steady pace in order to keep Zelos in her line of vision. "Wait a second, what are you guys talking about? Who's this 'Cruxis' you keep mentioning?" The questioner's light green eyes spun around to look at those around him.

Having reached the base of the Fooji Mountains, and caught up with Tethe'alla's Chosen, the travelers paused in somewhat of a circle in order to explain everything in understandable terms for their newest companion.

"Oh...so this 'Cruxis' is like the nobility of the Desians, right?" His blond hair shone softly in the mid-afternoon sunlight, understanding also shining in his eyes.

* * *

Silently, Yuan led his old friend away from Yggdrasill and into a room more suited to his tastes: less white and emptiness. The door closed behind the pair just as quietly and once he knew they were out of ear shot, even for the blond, did he speak; his tone hinted with anger. "What in the name of Mar-" The bluenette paused, eyes widening a fraction at what he had almost said for just a moment before both his eyes and mouth clamped tight; a slightly depressed emotion slipping onto this face.

"Calm down, Yuan." Garnet eyes stared evenly through his auburn locks at one of the last people he'd think of getting emotional. "I know what you're-"

Sapphire, half-elven eyes flashed open to glare at Kratos. "Me aside, do you realize that if, for one moment, Yggdrasill thought he didn't need you anymore, he'd kill you? It doesn't matter to him that you taught him how to fight. It doesn't matter if you helped that brat come out of his timid shell. It only matters if you're useful to his cause."

"Yuan," the swordsman began calmly only to be over-spoken by his former traveling companion.

"You need to be careful, alright? You have people who care about you and you know that. There can't be any thoughts like 'what's the point anymore?'. And do you know why, Kratos? Because there is a young boy down there who needs you to do what you should have been doing for the past seventeen years. A boy who-" Yuan paused in shock, a small red mark on the side of his cheek. He turned his head back from it's forced position, smirking a bit. "I suppose I deserved that."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Kratos strode over to a pair of chairs that stood in front of a dark desk covered in papers. A hand motioned for the other to join him before taking a seat. Only when Yuan reluctantly did the same did he allow himself to speak. "Yuan, there are many things we can't change and time is one of them...but if you'd like, for the time being, I will listen if you'd like to talk about her."

Yuan's hands clenched the arms of his chair, eyes' gaze cast down near the other's feet. He sighed, glancing up for a moment before returning to said position. "Alright."_ but only for a short while. Like you I have places to go and people to see, he continued within the confines of his mind._

_

* * *

_

"Hey, Zelos. How are we going to carry these?" Lloyd wondered one he saw the crashed rheairds.

Zelos, being the kind of guy he is, simply waved a hand in a gesture of 'over here' as he responded. "Oh, I'll show ya. Come over here for a sec." Lloyd, Genis, Sheena, Presea, and Raine followed him faster than the other pair in their party, still listening to the redhead talk. "I need to see just how many of these things there are and-woah!"

Suddenly an glowing, opaque yellow barrier rose up around those who had moved quicker. They heard a soft laughter on their far left, all eyes turning to see a male of about twenty-eight with long blue hair wearing a cape. "You've walked right into my trap, fools."

All eyes within the barrier turned towards the Chosen of Mana. "He just called you a fool," Lloyd commented, amusement obvious in his voice.

As if agreeing with the previous statement, Presea's monotone also spoke up for once. "Zelos...is clumsy."

Sapphire eyes scanned the group within the trap as Zelos' depressed tone floated to his ears. "Aw man...I am** so** sad now," as well as those outside of it. He paused, staring at the final one to come beneath his gaze. "You...what are you doing here?"

Aster's head titled to the side in confusion for a moment. "Do I know you?"

Yuan shrugged slightly, mainly to bring himself back to what he had originally planned to do. He ordered the pair of Renegades behind him to retrieve the rheairds before addressing a certain brunette dual swordsman. "This time you're mine, Lloyd."

"Lord Yuan?" A female's voice questioned, her holier-than-thou attitude showing through even though she spoke only a few words. "What brings you to this place?"

Despite the fact most of those around him had their attention focused somewhere else, the silver-haired genius commented softly, "I think I've seen that lady somewhere before…", yet no one really paid much attention to him whatsoever.

Yuan's expression shifted to a slight frown. "I should be asking you that, Pronyma," his tone just barely gave way to his annoyance at the oddly dressed female. "You and your Desians are supposed to be in the decli-"

"I have come here on Lord Yggdrasill's orders," The green haired woman remarked, cutting into the other's words. "I am to bring him the Chosen of Regeneration. Please turn her over to me."

"Fine, but-"

"Wait, what?" Yups, a certain researcher wants to know what's going on. "What are you talking about? You can't just kidnap Colette, that's only legal if she were to be half-elven..." He turned his head towards Zelos, but kept his light green eyes upon Yuan. "Right, Chosen One?"

Zelos shrugged. "How the hell am I supposed to know? These guys are Cruxis or Desians or what-not. As far as I'm aware though, the brat's right." This earned the redhead a muttered "I'm not a brat" from Aster that anyone with fairly good ears could have heard.

Yuan watched the pair in contempt. "You two, restrain the boy," he ordered the pair of Renegades behind him. "As for the Chosen, Pronyma, I shall hand her over to you on the condition I take custody of Lloyd Irving." His blue eyes shone in a way that seemed he thought himself superior to the woman. "I trust you have no objections to this?"

Without a word in response, Pronyma shifted closer to Colette just as the other blond not within the barrier attempted to struggle free. "No, Colette! Don't go with her!"

"Aster's right Colette, don't do it!"

The Desian chuckled darkly, a smirk upon her face. "There is no purpose in trying to reach a soulless being, foolish humans..." Her gaze narrowed as it fell upon Lloyd's makeshift Key Crest. "What? Why is such a crude piece of junk upon the Cruxis Crystal?" She began to raise a hand towards the crest as her words continued to sound. "…How pathetic. This ugly thing shall be removed immedi-AH!" Pronyma's breathe hitched, the tip of a piece of metal made of a completely different composition than her armor shining slightly just to the left of her heart. "You-you foolish little boy!" She screeched while making a final attempt to take the Key Crest from Colette.

"N-no!"

Everyone stood frozen still for they were all in complete shock that the voice was that of Colette's, not that some of them knew this. "Colette...Are you okay now?"

Other than Genis, Yuan was the first to come out of his surprised daze. "This is utterly impossible! There's no way that pitiful Key Crest could restrain the Cruxis Crystal!"

"Wow, Lloyd, I'm kinda wondering if you're really human or what," Zelos commented lightly, but received semi-darkened looks from most of those around him. "I-I mean, not that that'd matter to me or whatever, uh…not bad, Lloyd."

Still a little taken aback, Colette lost her balance as she tried to distance herself from both Pronyma and Aster and fell to the floor, "Whoops..." accidentally destroying the barrier control in the process. With the barrier trap deactivated, Lloyd rushed forward to come between Colette and the fallen Pronyma with his back to his childhood friend. "O-oh, no! I broke it!"

Her actions brought upon multiple reactions: Sheena cringed, clearly thinking of what happened the last time she had seen Colette trip and all others but Zelos and Presea had an expression of relief on their faces. The Chosen of Mana smirked, no one bothered listening to whatever it was he wanted to say for the time being, and Presea remained as emotionless as she always was. Genis laughed a bit, still smiling. "Now that's our Colette!"

With a brief glance towards Aster, Lloyd turned to face her. "Colette! Are you alright?"

Silently, the young blond nods shortly after getting to her feet. "Thank you so much, Lloyd." She smiled happily, blue eyes shining.

A shuffle of feet could only be heard from behind him, but along with Raine's shout of "Behind you!" did the brunette spin around in time to block Yuan's incoming strike. He was about to counter when his attack met with a thin blade. "Kratos." Lloyd's dark eyes narrowed in a glare at the elder swordsman.

"What the hell? Why are you here, Kratos?" Yuan demanded, turning his gaze away from the boy for a moment.

Kratos sheathed his sword, crossing his arms in front of his chest before meeting a sapphire gaze. The words he couldn't verbalize reached the other much to the mercenary's relief. "Leave, Yuan. Lord Yggdrasill has summoned you."

"It seems our match will have to wait just a little while longer, but I assure you, Lloyd Irving, you will fall against me in battle." Just as he passed by Kratos' side, he heard the other whisper for only their ears to be able to hear: "Good luck, Yuan. He's not in much of a good mood." With that, the male unfurled his sparkling wings and took off into the sky.

"Now, what are you doing?" When his words received no coherent response, a soft "What the hell's he talking about?" from Zelos obviously not counting as coherent, the angelic mercenary rephrased his question a bit. "Why have you come to Tethe'alla?"

This, on the other hand, resulted in a certain summoner glaring directly at him. "So you knew all along where I was from, didn't you?"

"I'm here to save Colette." Lloyd told him, clearly thinking Kratos' inquiry applied to only him. "Not that it should matter to you, you jerk."

Kratos merely ignored the boy's anger by answering calmly. "What good will saving the Chosen do? The relation of the two worlds vying for each other's mana will not change. Their positions have merely been reversed by the regeneration ritual."

Everyone present heard a murmured question, but could only tell it had come from the mouth of a young researcher. When he didn't get an answer, Aster repeated himself. "Has Tethe'alla begun to decline then? Are we all going to eventually lose magitechnology like Sylvarant has?"

This caused quite an awkward pause, in which everyone stared open-mouthed at the young blond. "No. Since the Tower of Salvation can still be seen from this world, it means your world is flourishing."

"But if the Chosen of Regeneration becomes Martel's vessel, Tethe'alla will bid farewell to our era of prosperity, right?"

There was a brief pause once more before Lloyd cursed, still quite angry with what was happening around him. "Isn't there anything this Yggdrasill can do? He's the one that built this twisted world!"

His glare towards Kratos was soon joined by another set of eyes, these being light green instead of chocolate. "That's just it, Lloyd. None of them consider this to be twisted at all. None of them care that what they've done has caused problems for those around them; for half-elves and dwarves, humans and elves. All they care about is their stupid Go-"

"Don't speak ill of the dead." A pair of voices chorused which resulted in both of the speakers eyes widening slightly, the younger's more than the other's.

Lloyd stepped away from his elder, his expression hardening. "Stop that. I don't need you around, Kratos. And I definitely don't need you trying to steal my own words."

The mercenary reverted back to his usually even expression. "If either of you want to do anything about it, us your own heads." He looked between the pair of boys before directly to Lloyd. "Didn't you say that you weren't going to make any more mistakes?"

"Hell yeah, I'll do it!" Lloyd responded, a clenched fist raising to be even with his collarbone. "This stupid system of two worlds stealing mana from each other… I swear I'll change it!"

Aster nodded in agreement, a grim smile upon his face. "You'll see, M-Kratos. This will be stopped."

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "Heh…well, do your best." With those parting words, Kratos' wings shone from his back, as he flew from the Chosens' group; Pronyma following him slowly.

The eight left atop the mountain stared silently after their former companion, Genis speaking mainly to those who had traveled with him to Tethe'alla. "Now that Kratos came to interfere and all, it looks like the Desians and Cruxis are really the same organization."

"It would seem Yuan is connected to Cruxis as well," his sister responded evenly. "This means we need to be careful of anyone we may meet, including someone who says he's on our side."

Aster's gaze shifted to the ground. "I'm sorry to ask this of all of you, but I really should be getting back to Sybak."

"It's fine, kiddo." The lone redhead stated shrugging. "Don't we want to get over the bridge anyway? We need to be getting this little one back to Ozette, right?"

Genis immediately spoke up, stuttering a bit for reasons unknown to some and blatantly obvious to others. "Y-yeah! This-this isn't being f-fair to Presea. We-we've dragged her a-around wi-with us without a-asking for her opinion too m-much."

"I want to go home..."

Lloyd only half paid attention to the rest of the conversation before directing his attention to his blond childhood friend. "Hey, Colette, is everything else back to normal? Besides your voice, can you feel things and such?"

"Yup, I think I'm okay. Thanks, Lloyd. And I'm sorry I made you worry so much." She paused for a moment before a smile graced her lips. "You know what? I think I'm hungry for the first time in a long while."

Despite the uncertain look in her eyes, Sheena smiled as well at the news. "That's great, Colette!"

Raine caught everyone's attention, breaking up the multiple conversations going in all at once. "Now what shall we do, everyone? Since Colette has regained her soul, there's no need for us to head immediately back to Sylvarant, but there is also the-"

"We should try to search for a way to save both worlds. Now that I know what really happens on this regeneration journey, no one should have to bear the same fate as the Chosen of Regeneration...no, no one should have to bear the same fate as Miss Colette."

That earned Aster a few odd stares. "Miss..." Lloyd began, him being one of the most amongst the confused. "...Colette?"

He shrugged. "But anyway, we need to go back to that side anyway. I agree with Genis. Presea has been dragged into this for far too long."

"Unfortunately, I doubt we can use the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge anymore," The long, silver-haired half-elf commented while glancing around to those around her; her gaze finally landing on Sheena.

Said summoner appeared pensive before speaking up for a moment. "Hmm...well, I do have some contacts in Meltokio. We could ask them for help."

"...But, aren't you guys wanted as traitors of Tethe'alla?" Aster wondered, his lime eyes narrowed in concern.

The Chosen of Mana smirked knowingly. "Leave that to me, brat. As you know, I am the Chosen. I know Meltokio like the back of my hand. There's no reason for you to worry your pretty little girly head about it."

"Don't make me come over there and slap you, Chosen."

His threat caused Zelos to immediately cover his face with both hands, shouting: "Not the face! Not the face! Not the face!"

Lloyd chuckled at the two. "All right then. We're counting on you, Zelos." The dual swordsman gestured to towards the bottom of the mountain. "Lead the way, oh great Chosen One."

Smirking despite his wariness of the young researcher's intentions, Zelos quickly strode by the rest of his traveling companions confidently. "You got it! You can always count on me! Now, my hunnies, we're off to Meltokio!" He left them all in the dust, most of them soon following him back down the path without the rheairds.

However, Lloyd lightly tapped Colette's should just as she was about to begin walking as well. "Colette, I..."

"What is it, Lloyd?"

He smiled. "Welcome back."

The Chosen of Regeneration giggled, joining Lloyd in happiness as she, too, smiled. "...I'm so very glad to be back."

* * *

Well, I have the next chapter ready to be uploaded, but I shall not do so until I get at least two reviews. So if you want to know what will be coming up next, please review. ^_^ People who've taken the time to look at my profile should have seen that I am one of those authors who would like to get feedback on my stories and this one is no different than the rest, even more so perhaps since it's so long.


	26. Sailing, Sailing, Over the Sea we Go!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

* * *

Chapter 25

Finally, the group of travelers reached their destination of Meltokio: only to be stopped by a couple of guards. "Chosen One, I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to pass." One of the two guards in front of Meltokio's gates stated. "While it pains me terribly to say this, you and your companions are currently wanted criminals. In fact, we really should repor-" Before he could even finish, a heavy piece of wood came crashing down upon his head thanks to a young brunette male. This caused his fellow guard to freak out and demand they leave the premises immediately.

Once they were a safe distance to the left of where the lone guard stood, Lloyd turned on the male Chosen. "Now what? We can't get in. You told us to leave it to you, remember?"

"Now, now, just calm down, Lloyd." Zelos remarked casually, clearly not taking anything going on seriously. "Like you said, leave everything to me." The man smirked, continuing as he glanced by Lloyd and focused on his female companions. "Just for my adorable hunnies, I'll show you all a special entrance." The redhead turned away from them and strode closer and closer to what looked like an entrance to the sewers with a "follow me, ladies" hanging in the air behind him: clearly disregarding the fact that Lloyd, Genis, and Aster were there all together.

Lloyd and his friends follow his footsteps until they, too, reach the entrance.

Aster grimaced. "Ugh, Chosen, why are you making us go through the sewers?" His lime eyes stared up at the one to whom he directed his words. "I would think someone of your nobility would know a better way to sneak in."

Zelos shrugged, not really paying any mind to the researcher's slight attitude. "Well, Meltokio's gate closes at night, so I use this a lot to get back home."

The implications of his response resulted in differing reactions. Colette, Lloyd, and Genis appeared to be slightly puzzled where as the rest, other than Presea, glared openly at Tethe'alla's Chosen. "Why don't you go home until night?" The Chosen of Regeneration wondered innocently.

Zelos' expression slowly turned mischievous. "…Hmm, I'll be happy to show you exactly why if you'd agree to stay with me toni-Ow! Sheena, I was only kidding, damnit! There's no reason to be getting jealous." The look deepened. "Unless of course **you'd** like to stay o-AH! NOT THE FACE YOU STUPID BRAT!"

"...Enemy presence detected. There is danger."

Lloyd nodded, acknowledging the young pink-haired girl's warning. "Yeah, we'd better be careful while we're down here."

* * *

A young blond boy stood perfectly still as he cast his frozen gaze down upon a motionless brunette woman, chained to the wall by her wrists, from a room far above her. He remained there until the sound of a door sliding open almost silently met his perceptive, pointed ears. "You wanted to see me, Lord Yggdrasill?" Yggdrasill turned, glaring at his fellow Seraphim momentarily before warping right in front of the sapphire-haired male and slapping him clear across his face.

"You are a disgrace to our cause, Yuan," the boy seethed. "You, as one of the Four Seraphim, have been neglecting your duties and thus failed to be of any help at all. Ever since the newest Chosen has begun her Journey, practically everything you have been assigned to do has been left untouched." Blond hair floated for a few moments as he spun on his heel and gestured for Yuan to direct his attention towards the glass windows looking down into the room below them. After all, the other was somewhat present when the auburn-haired man had temporarily lost his usual cool exterior.

"So is she truly dead, or did you simply do this to teach Kratos a lesson?" The elder of the two wondered evenly, knowing he was already treading on very thin ice with the boy.

Frozen blue eyes turned to glare at Yuan, their owner's emotionless tone filling the air. "Would you like to go down and check her vitals?" The boy demanded, nothing about him giving away that he was furious.

_I wonder if he's aware that he can die..._ The blue-haired half-elf silently wondered, pondering his own thoughts for a few moments.

* * *

"But, Lord Kratos," an angel tried to comment as he followed the auburn male towards a warp pad that led down to the land of Tethe'alla. "While I understand that the sacred wood is necessary to Lord Yggdrasill, do you not think you should send someone else to retrieve it? Someone less impor-"

The Seraphim silenced the other with but a single look. "I will return shortly, so there is no need to notify anyone of my absence. Do you understand?" Kratos received a nod from the feathery-winged angel just before he departed in a flash of blinding white light.

* * *

Footsteps echoed throughout the sewers as the traveling companions made their way closer and closer to the end of the maze-like sewers. Upon reaching a set of stairs, that which soon led to a ladder at the top of them, a trio of what looked like convicts landed before them.

Zelos stepped forward, curious as to what was going on. "Wh-what the hell? What's goin' on here?" He inquired, completely disregarding Presea's monotone "I sense...danger."

"We've been waiting for you, travelers from Sylvarant." The lead convict stated. "The Pope promised to lighten our sentences if we got rid of you for him." He turned his darkened eyes upon Zelos, and then momentarily Colette.

A brunette man from behind the other two remarked with a grin upon his face. "Ain't nothing personal, but you're gonna die!" Along with the others, he charged Lloyd and his friends with nothing but a few crude weapons and their fists. Unsurprisingly, the three unknown males are taken down quickly and mercifully knocked unconscious.

Almost silently a fourth convict leapt down to their level and landed atop Zelos, causing him to fall flat on his stomach while the new arrival rested his right foot right on the redhead's spine. "Don't move," his long, blue hair fell slightly forward as he bent to shift more than half his weight upon Zelos. "If you do, the Chosen dies." The male's light blue, almost the color of the sky, eyes gazed unblinkingly at the rest of them. "Understand?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Said pink clad swordsman struggled uselessly beneath the convict's metal-covered foot. "You seriously think you can get away with threatening the Chosen? Are you out of your freakin' mind?"

The convict shrugged emotionlessly. "One who plots the destruction of the world…can no longer be deemed the Chosen." He replied, adding more weight to the risen foot as the greaves upon his shins glinted in the low lighting. "I have no regrets to harming such a traitor to his people."

"Oh…" The Chosen's tone held a slight depressive hint to it as he realized he'd really be dead if he was forced to face the convict all by himself. "Hey. Hey, Lloyd!" He started, once more trying to wiggle free from below the brown boot. "If you abandon me here, I swear, I'll come back to haunt you!"

Lloyd gave him a blank stare, his chocolate eyes not really focused on anything at the moment. "I just had a sudden, violent urge to abandon you," the brunette stated sarcastically.

Moments later, the axe-wielding female charged towards Zelos and the convict holding him hostage in an attempt to strike the latter with her weapon. His evasion of her first attack allowed the redhead to hurriedly get to his feet and rest his forehead atop Lloyd's shoulder with an audible sigh.

Both Presea and the convict pause, staring at each other in silence. His eyes widened by only a bit. "You're..." He started to say something to her, but Genis launched a "fireball" technique at him which caused the elder male to quickly dodge them while noticing his fellows had slowly begun to awaken. "You have gotten lucky this time, Chosen. Let us retreat for now."

* * *

A woman smiled up at the one she had been having a conversation with, her head rising and falling in a nod. "Yes, this town is where the royal family as well as the Church of Martel has been receiving shipments of sacred wood for the recent prayers. In fact, we're the only ones who can give it to them since there are no other known places in which it has been found." She brushed a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Her hazel gaze met one of garnet. "I'm sure the one called Presea will be able to help you find what you're looking for, Mr. Aurion."

The purple-clad mercenary stood, a soft "thank you for your assistance" drifting from his lips as he took his leave.

* * *

"We finally made it into the city." Aster turned towards the summoner of their group. "So, are we gonna be going to the Elemental Research Lab?"

Sheena nodded. "Yeah, how'd you-oh, right. You started out there didn't you?" She turned her gaze to the rest of them. "I learned my summoning arts there. It's also where Corrine was born."

"Okay, let's go to that Elemental Research Lab place, then." The lone brunette swordsman stated, beginning on his way. He continued on until he reached the steps leading up towards the castle before pausing and then turned to the Tethe'allans of their group. "Uh...Where is this place we're going to anyway?"

Everyone except Presea sighed at the brunette's ever-lasting idiocy. Sheena and Aster began walking past the stairs to the right half of Meltokio, and continued under a bridge until they reached the doors to the laboratory. Almost immediately upon reaching them, Aster's hand reached out to hold the door open for everyone to pass by him.

_I'll never understand that kid, seriously._ Zelos thought to himself briefly as he, too, walked into the Elemental Research Lab before Aster. "You know you're a human, right?" He remarked off-handedly. "You don't have to do things like that. It's only required of half-elves and others of the lower social statuses." _Then again, he does hang around all those half-elves all the time, so maybe it's rubbed off on him?_

The young blonde glared openly at the Chosen, his hair swaying slightly in the wind. "It's also polite, you idiot Chosen." Aster gestured for the other to continue on his way so the younger could let go of the door and enter inside as well.

"Man, you don't have be so uptight about it."

While the pair was having their aggravating conversation, Sheena and the others had already asked the researchers there if they could help the travelers across the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. The summoner had also run into a fellow Mizuho ninja.

"Kuchinawa!" She said, startled to see him there. "Why are you here in Meltokio?"

Kuchinawa, dressed in scarlet Mizuho attire, remained expressionless as he replied. "I'm on a top-secret mission, but I hear you and these apparent friends of your's need to get across the bridge?"

Sheena nodded. "They said the best they can do for us is a modified EC."

"Hey! What the hell do they think we are, packages?" The Chosen demanded, having just heard of the results now.

"An Elemental Cargo does sound like it's going to be our best option." Aster commented evenly, disregarding the redhead's annoying voice. "They are compact transport vehicles controlled by Exspheres. Usually the maximum weight it can handle is about 1400 kilograms and the maximum speed is more than three times faster than an Exsphere-equipped carriage, even if it's been upgraded as best as it can be. Currently, like the Chosen mentioned, they're used to ship deliveries for companies. Elemental Cargoes absorb mana from the atmosphere and eject it into the air, using it to propel the vehicle."

Lloyd, confused as ever as he tried to listen to Aster's explanation spoke up when the younger male paused for a moment. "So if we have Sheena use Undine for that, then we can make this EC thing surf, right?"

"S-surf…?" Raine murmured, her complexion paling slightly at the thought of being on the water again.

Colette, concerned for her professor's mental heath, stepped forward. "Isn't there any other way, Aster? I mean, not everyone likes the ocean."

"The bridge is closed, and unfortunately none of us have the necessary identification to use an ocean liner." He continued, interrupting Zelos just as the noble began to open his mouth. "Normally the Chosen would, but since he's a wanted traitor, that really wouldn't be a good idea..." His light green eyes met those of the Sage siblings in apology before continuing. "And on top of all that, our group has a pair of half-elves with us. So no one in their right mind would help us obtain anything better than what these guys are offering us."

"Aster!"

"It's alright, Lloyd, we understand that having us with you may cause unintentional problems for you. That's why neither Genis nor I told you what we were while we were still in Sylvarant."

Genis nodded, turning to stare directly at his best friend. "Yeah, so don't get mad at him just because he brought it up."

"That's just the kind of world Tethe'alla is," the Chosen of Mana remarked, still seeming not to really care all that much about anything. "I doubt these guys have really gotten to leave here as it is, being what they are."

Sheena glared daggers at him for a moment before ignoring him completely. "If you'd wait a day, they said they'll have it ready tomorrow morning."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you saying you all already agreed to this?" Sheena nodded, having been the one to go talk to them in the first place. "And this being treated like packages is all just fine with you?" Again she nodded.

"Like Aster said, it's probably our best choice right now, Zelos." Lloyd commented before adding as a thought came to him of words spoken to him while in Izoold. "And I couldn't care less if we all had to swim across the sea as long as we get to Sybak."

Zelos took a step back from the brunette, eyes widening in shock and slight concern for the teen's priorities. "Ar-Are you okay, Lloyd?"

"Yeah, you're sounding a lot like Kra-Ah-Anyway, why not we wait at the inn or something for the time being." The young mage sounded a bit nervous, but not many of the others noticed due to his new habit of stuttering around Presea. "We need them to give us the modified EC, right?"

The redheaded Chosen nodded. "Okay then. Let's go rest at my mansion. It's in the nobles' quarters to the right of Castle Tethe'alla. Since it's a conspicuously big building, you'd have to be a complete idiot in order to miss it."

"Then I'd be carful if I were you, Chosen," Aster muttered, but everyone heard him anyway.

* * *

Silence engulfed the single being who stood almost like a statue near the clear wall of a pure white room. The seemingly middle-aged half-elf's sapphire gaze stared down at the brunette woman in the room below. _How could he do such a thing? After having witnessed and experienced what it feels like to have someone you care deeply for taken from you? How could he kill this human woman?_ The room's atmosphere remained how it had been, Yuan's thoughts spinning tirelessly around within his mind. Not only did the Seraphim not understand his kin, but he could feel a tightening around his heart as his steady gaze held Anna within it. He didn't want to go down to her side and see for himself that the younger male's words had held true, mainly because he thought there could be a slight chance that his fiancee's image would flash before his eyes. She, too, had died before his very eyes, and there was nothing he could do about it back then.

* * *

Zelos, Lloyd, and their fellow travelers entered through the front door of the Wilder's mansion soon after leaving the Elemental Research Laboratory. Upon seeing the redhead, the head butler greeted him and his companions with a "welcome back, Chosen One" and a low bow.

"Yo, Sebastian, anything happen while I was out my my beautiful hunnies?"

Sebastian nodded, the smile upon his face not wavering at all. "I have been told by the Papal Knights, as well as an emissary of His Majesty Tethe'alla the 18th to report to the Pope as soon as you returned, Young Master Zelos." In the way he spoke, it sounded as if the older male was considering doing so despite the odd way he was informed to do so behind his master's back.

Zelos' cheerful expression evened out once the name of "Pope" had left his servant's lips. "Yeah...Just ignore that, mm'kay?"

Nodding again, the butler glanced around at the rest of the dual-world travelers. "It shall be as you say, sir." His eyes caught an unusual sight, seeing as there were more than just females accompanying his young charge. "…and who are the odd-looking males?"

This comment almost started an argument with the daggers the three young men were shooting Sebastian, but Raine, Sheena, and Zelos all quickly stopped the ones closest to them before they harmed the innocent man. Raine swiftly slapped her younger brother on the back of his head, silencing the short mage just as he was about to step forward and respond to the other's words. Sheena used a less painful approach as she simply clamped a hand over Aster's mouth; the other firmly grasping his sword's hilt.

Zelos, however; decided to simply step beside Lloyd while lazily laying his left arm around the dual swordsman's shoulders. "He's my bud, and you don't need to worry about the others. They'll behave just fine."

Sebastian nodded a third time, looking directly to Lloyd. "If there is anything you need, Sir Bud, please speak to me." With that, he turned and left as quickly as he could without looking like he was running or moving in any hasty way. He wasn't stupid enough to stay near people who glared at him for his honest words. The three did look odd to him. After all, it's not every day he saw Zelos Wilder, ladies' man, with any number of men wether they be half-elven or not.

Lloyd, who had completely forgotten everything that had happened before the Chosen of Mana draped himself over the younger male, shrugged Zelos off of him as he turned towards the redhead to state in a huff. "My name's not "Bud"!"

* * *

That night, Zelos slept in his own room while the rest of them shared one of the three guest bedrooms with one or two others in their party. No matter how much he wanted to share one with Presea, Genis shared a room with his sister. Sheena, Colette, and Presea shared the one beside them where as Lloyd and Aster were left with the only other room unless they wanted to sleep on the "not-so-comfy couches on the first floor" as Zelos had put it.

Said pair of young males were up, Lloyd laying on his back atop the twin-sized bed while Aster sat the desk that appeared to have been shoved into the corner and not used very often. The brunette's chocolate eyes were only half-visible, for anyone dealing with Zelos for that long of a time would be worn out, and the blond's gaze scanned down page after page of statistics and information. With a rather noticeable yawn, Lloyd sat up slightly and rested back on his forearms. "What the? How can you possibly have enough energy to do work now? It's almost midnight."

Aster paused, glancing over his left shoulder at the other occupant momentarily before turning completely around to face his friend. "Richter and I, well more me than him, usually work on what we need to do for the day in order to stay on schedule and that more often than not means staying up later than normal people would. We're the only two in the entire group that do this, but it's fun." He held up a paper that showed a depiction of a glowing red sphere with what appeared to be wings etched in white on the surface of it. "For example, we're currently studying the legends that deal with the eight Centurions as well as a being known in legend as Ratatosk. This page here tells that not all that much is know about him, but this artifact here has his symbol on it." The young boy hurriedly swapped the page for another. "Some even say that the Hero Mithos had met Ratatosk during the time of the Great Kharlan War, but these hypotheses have even less information Mithos' companions. And I'm willing to bet that Professor Raine has tried to teach you, Genis, and Miss Colette about that time since it has so much to do with the Chosen's Journey of Regener...a...tion." The young researcher's bright eyes slowly shifted away from the brunette towards the window as the hand holding the piece of paper allowed it to drop from his grasp absentmindedly. "Speaking of Professor Raine, I just remembered she told me that she wanted to talk to me about something earlier. I should go and see what it was she wanted." Aster tried his hardest not too seem too obvious about it, but he practically dashed out the bedroom door; quietly shutting it as not to awaken anyone who may have already fallen asleep._ Man he can be so weird...but what is he doing here in Meltokio anyway?_

Lloyd watched as his newest traveling companion ran out the door, slightly wondering if the boy was telling the truth or not, when he heard what his ears decided was his name. "Huh? What was that?" He scanned around the room, eyes looking to the window last. "Is someone out there or am I so tired I'm hallucinating?"

"Lloyd..."

The teenage swordsman got to his feet and went over to the window to gaze outside into the darkness. "That really did sound like Kratos, but it can't be him. He should be with that Ygg-whatever the hell his name is..."

A chuckle from behind him reached the red clad human's ears, causing the boy to turn around and then immediately take a step back in alarm; eyes narrowing into a distrustful glare. "Is it that bad to see me?"

"Are you here for Colette?"

Kratos shook his head slightly. "Not at all. As she is now, she's useless to Cruxis. I simply heard gossip that the Chosen of Mana had returned and thought to see for myself. Trusting the words of small children is rarely a good idea."

As the former mercenary took a step to his left towards the now empty desk, the brunette shuffled slightly to take a seat upon his temporary bed. "So why bother coming to talk to me? You know I still think you're a traitor, right?"

"Yet you have made no move to attack me, a traitor."

Lloyd's expression turned from defensive to uncertain in a matter of seconds, a hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck. "Ye-yeah, well...wasn't it you who said not to assume things about someone even though you think one thing about them? Be-besides, you already said that you weren't here to cause trouble, s-so, um..." _Why can't I stay mad at him for long anymore? Is it just because I feel some sort of connection to him? Or is this just what a family would be like? 'Cause I know how Dad can never really stay mad at me for long, even if I disobeyed him and went near his forge..._

The auburn-haired Seraphim chuckled once more at the younger one's words and actions. "Who was that young boy here moments ago?"

"H-Huh? Oh, that was Aster."

"Aster?" Kratos repeated, feigning ignorance to conceal the fact he knew quite well who the blond was and just what he and his half-elven friend were getting themselves into by researching Centurions.

Lloyd's brunette spikes waved slightly as he bobbed his head up and down a couple of times. "Yeah. We met him in Sybak just before the Professor and Genis got taken hostage for acting like they were humans although they're both really half-elves." His dark brown eyes met with his former mentor's. "You knew they were half-elves, didn't you? There's something you angels have that can sense the mana signatures...or whatever Genis and Aster call them when they're talking about all that kind of stuff." A small nod from Kratos gave Lloyd all he needed as a reason to continue talking. "Aster was atop the Fuji Mountains too, if you didn't notice."

_Ah, so he was the one who had stabbed Pronyma. She wouldn't stop complaining that a blond brat had somehow snuck up behind her and dealt quite a bit of damage to her back...Where did he find the sword I wonder. Could this friend of his possibly have given it to him?_

Just outside the bedroom he was to be sleeping in for the night, said young blond fell silently to the floor and rested his back up against the door. His ears picked up some of what was being said within, but not all of it. Not that it really mattered since the boy knew all of the information already. _Mr. Kratos knows Lloyd, yet from my understanding they're on opposing sides. So why take the risk of coming down from Derris Kharlan just to see him? Unless..._ Aster shook his head once to clear it, focusing his attention back onto the words being spoken on the other side of the door.

"I shall bid you farewell for now, for it is late and you should be getting to sleep, Lloyd," the elder of the two suggested, his tone having eventually thawed at the long span of time around the boy.

Aster heard a scoff come from where he assumed Lloyd still sat upon his bed, a glare obviously showing on his face. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a child? I'm almost an adult now, and I don't need some traitorous mer-angel telling me what to do. You're not my father, Kratos, so just stop acting like you are."

A heavy, almost awkward silence fell upon the room's occupants, Kratos' eyes just barely widening. The angelic mock mercenary sighed softly, his lips parting ever so slightly to allow the breath to leave him. "Get some sleep, Lloydan. You'll need it if you are to continue on the path you have chosen." _So much has changed, but his attitude towards me...it's good to see somethings never change, no matte how long it has been. Kratos turned towards the window through which he had originally come to visit the boy. This time was merely a coincidence, but the next time may very well be when he and his companions return to the Tower of Salvation...Lloydan, please don't die before I see you again._ Sparkling blue wings sprouted from his spine, tiny specks of the feathers drifting to the ground as a result, as a hand pushed open half of the clear glass. "Lloyd."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Don't die."

The angel was about to take off when a single hand latched onto his wrist, causing him to hesitate for a moment and turn around to give the younger male an inquisitive look. "What is it? You need to be going to sleep, and your friend may be back soon."

Lloyd's eyes lowered to the floor momentarily before jumping back up towards Kratos' garnet ones. "A-I mean, it-it's about that night back in Sylvarant. You know, when you went off by yourself after Sheena told us about her homeland?" He paused, uncertainty showing in his gaze as well as actions. "I've been wondering about it since then...Wh-when you were little, you had a pet bird. His name was Noishe, right? Or-or did I not hear that right?"_ It could be that I heard wrong, but I doubt it. He definitely called that white and green bird "Noishe"._

Now Kratos could have taken the easy way out that Lloyd had accidentally given him and tell the boy he had misheard his younger self, but lying like that while knowing the brunette was his only living bloodline was something he'd rather not do. "Yes, his name was Noishe. I wouldn't be all that surprised if the Chosen had mentioned to you that I had a pet long ago."

"Wh-what happened to him? Uh-I-I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"As you saw, Noishe and I traveled alone after my homeland had burned to the ground. To this day, I haven't the slightest idea where that bird went nor what caused the fire."

The boy's eyelids fell slightly over the tops of his chocolate orbs, understanding the answer he was given for once. "I-I'm sorry I asked..." Then all of a sudden his face tilted up to look directly at Kratos, having brightened a bit as a result of his idea. "You know, i-if you want, you could pretend that my dog is your pet too. I mean, they have the same name and both of them are mainly white with a bit of green. So..."

A small half-smile graced Kratos' lips for only a moment. "Thank you, Lloyd." _That may be one of your best ideas yet..._ "But now you must get some sleep. What you have already experienced is nothing compared to what may lie ahead. Good night."

Only a few seconds passed by until the young dual-swordsman sat upon his bed, all alone in the room. "Good night...Kratos."

* * *

The next morning, all except Lloyd, Zelos, and Colette were up an about before even the sun came up. However, not a soul could figure out where Sheena or Aster were...which gave Zelos a bright idea he just **had** to mention to the others in his group. "Hey, maybe they snuck out to-"

"ZELOS!" Raine shouted, slapping the redhead before he could continue his train of thought, a continuous mumble of "not the face not the face not the face not the face!" coming from him in response.

Moments later, Sebastian passed by them all to open the front door in order to allow in the dark-haired summoner with a small fox-looking creature upon her shoulder and light-haired researcher; a small backpack looking piece of luggage within his hands. "The Chosen of Mana is being his idiotic self again is he, Professor Raine?" She nodded, giving the young adult one of her signature looks along with a muttered "some people never grow up it seems..."

"So, what'cha got there, Aster?" A certain brunette swordsman wondered, directing everyone's attention to the item in the younger boy's grasp.

"A wing pack." Those words brought a round of confused expressions on those from Sylvarant, even Raine to a certain extent, as well as some sort of comment about Sylvaranti being country bumpkins from their host that no one really paid any attention to. After all, it was Zelos, and by this point in the day no one could stand listening to his voice after his previous comment.

Lloyd was to quick to ask a question that seemed to be on Colette's mind as well. "Are these EC things really that small? How're we all gonna fit inside one?"

The Chosen brought a palm to his precious face, soft enough so he didn't harm it so he didn't really make much of a sound. "Man, how the hell do you all freakin'** live** in Sylvarant?"

Sheena glared at the noble for a moment. "Anyway, we need to hurry up. Kuchinawa's waiting for us over by the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge."

* * *

"No, you idiot, don't touch-" before the speaker could fully give his warning, one of his newer co-workers accidentally caused almost one fourth of their current experiment to blow into smithereens. The younger of the two sighed, having been the one who tried to stop trouble before it was caused. His long hair was currently tied back into a low ponytail; he kept it that way while working just to make sure none of it got in his way. "Didn't I tell you not to allow that anywhere near the rest of the materials? That's why no one here can ever get anything thing done. Because you're all incapable of understanding something as simple as the possibility of two chemicals reacting to one another and resulting in an explosion." The male's tone had sharpened as he continued to speak, and those around him stepped away from their enraged kinsman. They all had noticed that the young half-elf's ability to deal with others had drastically lessened from what it had been weeks prior to that day a pair of unknown half-elves had been discovered posing as humans just on the floor above them.

A dark haired female that looked to be about thirty-five or so tentatively came forward to the young man's side, sympathy showing lightly upon her features. "Richter, maybe you should take a break from this for a few days." She suggested calmly, despite the reactions of the rest of the half-elven researchers. Well, she was able to remain calm until a pair of dark green eyes angrily glared directly into her soul. "Oh-or maybe not..."

"All of you just stay out of my way." Richter stated roughly, walking by the woman without so much of a glance at her again as he made his way over to the corner he and his partner kept the data they'd collected for the project the two of them had been working on for years. His gloved hands shuffled through the compiled notes, forest eyes glazing over slightly at the sight of the messier additions to each of the notebooks before him that laid upon the table. _Where did they take you that you haven't been able to return for so long?_ Abruptly, both of his hand dropped what they were holding and one clenched into a fist while the other lowered as if to grasp the weapon's hilt at his side only to be met with empty space. _That's right... _His gaze shifted to where the two ends of the walls met. A sheathed sword and axe rested against the wall at the conjuncture of the two parts of the room. _I set them over there so I wouldn't accidentally draw one and injure one of these fools again. The youngest half-elf sighed softly, closing his eyes. Where the hell are you, Aster?_

* * *

It took the group of travelers about an hour or so to sail across the sea to the other side of the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge as well as find a port in which they could dock. As soon as he got out of the EC, Aster headed in the direction of Sybak; only the thought of reaching his best friend occupying his mind. Not even Lloyd or Genis' attempts to slow him down by grabbing one of his forearms worked. The teenager just dragged whichever one had tried along with him on his speedy journey.

The three of them entered the techie's city maybe a few minutes before the rest of them, and the sight that met their eyes was certainly incriminating to the one not within their traveling party. "Kratos? What the hell are you doing here?" Sheena demanded, eyes widening slightly at the young brunette was shoved roughly to the ground before the teen could get anywhere close to making contact with the mercenary.

"…I have no intention of fighting you inside the city." He addressed his former student calmly, ignoring the summoner's question all together. "Seeing as you still lack the skills to defeat me."

Lloyd hurriedly got to his feet as his opponent easily deflected a strike from his left from Aster's blade as well. "Don't insult me, you jerk!" His entire body turned to continuously face Kratos as the male strode past him, Genis, and Aster who was barely back to standing.

He paused after just passing Colette. "Chosen One, if you wish to live, I suggest you remove that worthless thing."

"No..." The Chosen of Regeneration's hands rose to kindly rest upon her gift from Lloyd. "I'm never taking this off. Lloyd...he gave this to me."

Slowly Kratos shook his head, the reason escaping those around him, just before sighing. "Foolish sentiments." He took a few steps, those companions of Colette that still stood before him stepped aside to let him through without much hassle, before whirling around to block a Demon Fang sent his way.

"How can you call her foolish? Just because she wants to make the world a better place for everyone does not give you the right to talk to her like that!" The young boy stated, weapon still drawn. "I don't completely understand all of what's going on right now, but Cruxis can't possibly think the way it's going about this is correct. This Yggdrasill you and your fellow angels talk about so highly is clearly insane if he thinks creating an age of lifeless being will solve all the worlds' problems!"

"A-Aster..." Genis began, only to get cut off by the blond.

"I don't care if he's half-elven, human, elven, dwarven, half...whatever! Yggdrasill is going about this all wrong if he thinks doing this will end discrimination." The anger in the fifteen-year-old boy's voice slightly scared all those around him except the one to which he was speaking. "He's just a stupid fool who couldn't stand up for himself and his friends, and I won't allow anyone like that to disrespect my fellow living beings. All of us here, I swear to you right now in the name of Origin himself, will bring an end to you and Cruxis." By this point, Aster's voice slowly began to waver, the hand in which he held his sword shook slightly. "Nothing any of you did changed anything when it came to the way people treat half-elves. Nothing any of you tried to accomplish occurred. And do you want to know what that is? Because you and Cruxis have torn the worlds apart and set them against each other, with half-elves as the bad guys who kidnap and kill people under Yggdrasill's orders! No one has taken what you tried to do with any positive result..." A single tear ran down his right cheek. "And I hate my own race for their actions. We all should set aside our differences, forget this stupid caste system, and make amends with those who are different from us. We shouldn't have to fight and create prejudices against other races simply because they're different from us...That's why I am how I am. I can't stand to see people treat others with disrespect like they do, just because they're of different blood or origin."

"Are you saying you'd willingly give your life to see your ideals through?" Kratos countered evenly. "If not, you're no better than a dog who barks often even though it's scared of the world around it. If not, set down that weapon because a child like you does not understand what those who are able to die for their beliefs must go through everyday, for the sake of those they care for. If not, go home, since it is clear by your words that you have yet to feel the burden that is taking another's life; another living being's life."

At suggestion that he couldn't bare the burdens of his ideals, the young researcher's light green eyes widened in rage as his mouth tightened to a straight line. "I. Am **not**. A **dog**." He paused, taking a breath to calm down slightly before continuing. "Yes, you arrogant follower of Yggdrasill, I am saying I would willingly give up my life in order to ensure peace for everyone who lives in both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant. If it meant that people would no longer treat others with contempt for the simple reason of having been born with different blood, then yes. I would give up my own life for those I care about to be happy, even if that means I can't share their happiness."

Lime green stared in unblinking determination at the cold, emotionless gaze that met his own for at least a few minutes of silence. The mercenary then turned and left, not many being able to tell if he had muttered anything in his wake or not.

"...So...he **wasn't** after Colette?" The young silver-haired genius hesitantly wondered, glancing around at the others.

Zelos shrugged in response. "I dunno, but Aster's right on the account that that man is arrogant. Talk about a son of a-Ow! I said I'm agreeing with you, brat!" The redhead flinched at the harsh contact of palm to cheek, glaring down at the blond. "But seriously, he was talking like he knew everything there was to know about anything."

Dark eyes shot daggers at the her fellow Tethe'allan. "While we're on the subject of how people talk, why don't you do something about your vulgar language?" While still holding his cheek, the redhead responded in no other way than just a simple chuckle at the summoner.

"Anyway, we should get Aster back as soon as we can."

* * *

The group took the secret passage way previously shown to them in order to return the young Tethe'allan back from where he had come. Upon hearing the muffled sounds of footsteps and voices coming from the wall, a few of the researchers turned to watch as the passage opened to reveal a pair of their very own standing before them, accompanied by those they had met days ago. Kate was the first to react, her eyes widening as they gazed upon a smiling Genis and somewhat impassive Raine. "You truly have half-even friends, don't you?" The younger of the siblings nodding in response.

"Where's-" Richter began, slight anger sounding in his voice, just before all of his air got knocked out of him by a certain short blond.

"I'm so glad to see you, Richter!" Aster stated joyously from where his arms were wrapped tightly around his best friend's midsection, although the words were muffled a bit due to the fact that the younger of the two's head was currently buried close to Richter's lab coat covered chest. "It's really surprising that everyone's still here, too! I was wondering if Kensuke was going to be in the hospital again for angering you too much while I was gone." Eyes widened at his words, most of the travelers gazes turning to stare at the redheaded researcher...

Who promptly gave them all an ice cold glare. "What?" He demanded, his tone as frozen as his expression.

Raine cleared her throat, bringing the others' attention away from the two during their reunion and onto herself; her words addressing Kate. "I've the heard the story from my friends, but I must hear it directly from you. Is Presea really creating a Cruxis Crystal within her body?"

"Yes, that's correct." Kate nodded, her arms folding across her chest. "We call it the Angelus Project." Stunned looks came from the Sylvaranti, the brunette murmuring something to himself that not even those with elven blood could understand. "Wh-what?"

"That's...the project Mom was involved in..."

The women shrugged nonchalantly, not really caring about some human's mother. "The exsphere itself is nothing special. It simply has a special Key Crest, that's all. It delays the exsphere's parasitic process, which can take place over a few days or up to several decades. This seems to have the possibility of causing exspheres to mutate into Cruxis Crystals."

Colette's sky blue eyes widened, her thought process' conclusion clearly not to her liking. "I-If we leave Presea like this, what will happen to her?"

"When the parasitic process is complete, she will die." The voice that answered was none other than everyone's favorite seemingly emotionless researcher, which brought all eyes back on the redhead. "Thus is the fate of those with Cruxis Crystals and exspheres alike."

Genis' gaze flashed over to where Presea stood in a corner with her back to the rest of them, mouth dropping open in horror. "How can you say such a thing so calmly? You're talking about someone dying! What has Presea ever done to you for you to act like this?" He demanded, openly glaring at his kinsman.

With nothing more than a slight raise of his shoulders, Richter turned away to return to his work while his best friend's expression saddened. "Um...Genis? C-can I talk to you on the surface for a second?"

The sliver-haired boy tilted his head to the side a bit. "Sure, Aster."

As the two left through the secret passage, the younger of the two's enhanced hearing caught snippets of the conversation they were leaving. "In order to save...dwarf named Altessa...in Gaoraccia Forest."

* * *

Aster led his friend up and out of the passage way, and didn't stop walking until the two of them were out of hearing range of anyone else, half-elven or otherwise, but close enough to Sybak that monsters weren't all that much of a threat. Once his feet came to a halt, he turned to look at Genis with a serious expression. "Before I say anything, you have to promise me you won't mention this to anyone else, not even Lloyd or your sister."

A nod accompanied by an "okay" was Genis' only response.

"Or let on to Richter that you either know or that I told you this. If you did, he'd probably kill you and never speak to me again after fighting me without holding back."

Another nod.

The blonde sighed, taking a seat on the soft grass beneath their feet while motioning for Genis to do the same. "I met Richter when I was barely ten years old. At that point, he was barely any more sociable than a rock towards the rest of us. Nevertheless, being so young as I was probably, I tried my hardest to make friends with him. Just like I did to anyone I met." Aster paused for a moment, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I forgot what the point of my story was for a second there... Anyway, I knew from the start he was a half-elf, but I really didn't care. You see, I was surrounded by them basically all day everyday, so I barely even noticed the looks they gave me after a while. When I had first arrived, at age nine, the others on our research team looked down upon me and -oh! I-I didn't mean that only in a physical sense, I m-mean, they were all so much taller than me and...I meant in a less tangible way; like they thought I was stupid and not meant to be there. Sometimes one or two of them would come up to me and tell me to my face that I was useless and didn't deserve to be there...ah, I'm sorry, Genis, I keep going off on tangents. That's not the purpose of my story either! I want to explain why Richter's the way he is with most humans, not my past troubles with bullies. My problems are nothing compare to his." He waved his hands in between them in a sort of windshield wiper movement, an slight awkward and embarrassed expression upon his face. "Richter once let this slip when we were talking late at night while working on a project. When he was a few years younger than the age I was when we first met, the humans around him treated him like he was a monster. He was apparently the only half-elf back in the town he grew up, and even those maybe a year younger than him mistreated him. The adults did nothing to stop their children, teenagers especially, from throwing rocks as well as ganging up against him. Um..." Lime green eyes shifted their gaze down to the ground beside their owner's right knee. "I won't tell you everything that they did, since I have no doubt it'd make you uneasy, but more often than not the older boys would purposely seek him out and beat him up. He-he probably doesn't remember it all that much since he never mentioned it, but we lived in the same town; Sybak, actually. Back then, the research academy didn't allow its half-elves to leave their work for anything, and they were the only ones besides Richter that lived there. I remember that, when I was maybe seven or so, that I once watched a gang of roughly eight to ten teenage human boys crowding around something or someone. Not long after I noticed them did my eyes see the first sight of true cruelty that these two worlds contain. So I hurried to retrieve my medical kit and waited for them to be satisfied with their 'amusement with the half-ling'. It disgusted me to watch as one of them repeatedly knocked the wind out of his lungs while another held both his arms back, knowing full well I couldn't do anything to stop them."

By this point, both boys' expressions were grim: Genis' more so since this was the first time he'd heard of such a thing happening to someone he'd met and learned the name of. Unsurprisingly, his voice faltered a bit as he spoke. "Wha-what happened after th-they left?"_ I never knew humans could be so...evil._

"Humans can't use magic so I had to rely on the scarce number of apple, orange, and melange gels I had in my kit, as well as a couple old-fashioned bandages, but I tried my best to ease the pain from his wounds. And trust me, there were many of varying degrees. Some I had no clue as to how to deal with, so I'm sorry to say I couldn't help him completely. Our sizes and weights being so drastically different I couldn't vary well carry him back to my home either. That...and my dad would probably have killed him if I had. He was one of those who believed all beings other than humans should die simply because they weren't human."

The half-elven boy's eyes widened. "Wh-what? How could even think of doing such a thing?"

Aster shrugged, his expression not changing in the slightest. "Richter's a half-elf. So of course he would do that if there ever came a day those two crossed paths. And I doubt it wouldn't have been all that hard for my father either. At that point, Richter had neither of the weapons he does now, nor did he know how to wield them." The blond's green eyes stared directly into the other boy's, neither of them blinking. "I don't have much else to say besides, again, please don't tell anyone about this and...that I'm glad you and Lloyd are as such good friends as you are. He seems to be the kind of guy that wouldn't care if the person he met was half monster; he'd still give them the benefit of the doubt unless they give him a reason pretty good reason not to."

Laughing a bit at the other's words, Genis smiled slightly. "Yeah. Lloyd's great like that." He glanced up at the sky. "I can't say I know what it felt like to go through what he did, but that still doesn't give him the right to treat all humans with no remorse. Presea did nothing to him, from what I know, and yet-"

"Yeah...When we first met back in the research academy, we didn't exactly get along all that well to begin with either." Aster's expression shifted to one that made him look as if he were remembering a very dear piece of his past, a soft chuckle escaping from his lips. "That's one of the main reasons I believe what I do."

The mage's head tilted to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality." The words sounded a bit as if they were just being recited, but the emotion Aster put behind them told Genis otherwise. "It's my main reason for believing in all the worlds' people that someday, we'll all be able to live in harmony: humans, half-elves, elves, dwarves, even the angels too. Each and every living being that lives in both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant. I believe that, if we all put an effort into changing the world we live in, then who's to say it won't happen? It's like you and your friends and how you're trying to make it so no one has to die in the place for someone else. So that Miss Colette doesn't have to sacrifice herself to save the world, like the many Chosens before her and Zelos." He stood, dusting imaginary dirt off his lab coat along with the layers he wore underneath it. "But come on, we should probably be heading back before Richter demands one or two of your friends to come up to the surface to look for us. If that were to happen, I have no doubt he'd make a few enemies for himself that he'd rather not have to put up with. After all, the Chosen of Mana can be pretty annoying..."

"Heh, yeah, but-"

"GENIS! ASTER!" An all too familiar voice called out as a small dark dot came rushing towards them, growing in size as the colors defined themselves better in both sets of eyes: green and blue. Unnoticed to the pair of boys just rising to their feet, the figure was not alone.

The eyes reflecting the sky widened. "L-Lloyd! Wh-what are you doing out here?"

As the brunette neared his friend's location, he began to slow down his mad dash of a run into more of a jog. "I was asked quite...um..."

"Forcefully?" Aster suggested, a smirk inching onto his face at the thought of Richter, a half-elf, demanding anything from a human and them actually agreeing to it; whether that person was Tethe'allan or a Sylvaranti it mattered little.

The dual-swordsman nodded hesitantly. "Uh, I guess you could call it that. But anyway, I was asked to find you guys." His gaze was then directed completely upon the half-elf. "We're gonna be going to see a dwarf named Altessa to see if he can do anything for Presea." And then to his fellow human. "Sorry, but you're to go back and stay in Sybak." Lloyd gave the pair his signature goofy grin. "Orders of your partner."

The blond shrugged. "Not that I expected any less from Richter. You guys saw how protective he was when he first met Zelos, right? Well, I'm amazed he even let me go along with you guys without him going too."

"I would say I resent that, but it's true."

All three of the young males whipped around towards the direction of Sybak to see none other than the redheaded half-elf they were speaking of with an overall grumpy expression upon his face. "Ri-Richter! I-I didn't notice you were there!" Aster's head turned to Genis, the one odd piece of hair atop his head swaying slightly as he did so. "You didn't sense him near us, did you?" He received nothing but a shake of a head since the half-elven prodigy was still too stunned to respond verbally.

"How did you do that?"

Richter's dark green gaze locked onto Genis for a few moments, the boy wondering slightly if that was sadness he saw in the other's gaze. "You're a Sylvaranti, aren't you."

The pair of Sylvaranti exchanged a quick glance. "Uh...why's that matter?" It was somewhat surprising to the other half-elf that the young boy needed an answer to that simple question.

Although instead of giving the silver-haired mage any form of decent response, the redhead turned away abruptly and took a gentle-seeming hold on Aster's shoulder. "Come on, we're going back." His rough tone disguised any hints of emotion from the others but his blond best friend who simply smiled and allowed the other to do as he wished after politely excusing the two of them from Lloyd and Genis' presence.

Once he was sure they were out of hearing range of Genis, Aster chuckled openly. "You envy him, don't you?"

Richter's head snapped down and to his right, a demand on his lips. "What?"

It was clear the boy was slightly failing at suppressing his grin, but they both ignored it completely. "That's why you asked him if he was from Sylvarant. We here know that they don't have a caste system like we do, so you were wondering if he was able to live a more peaceful life in Sylvarant despite his blood."

"Hmph."_ It's not like it's every day you get to see what your life could have been like if you were born in a different situation._

_

* * *

_There. Thanks to the reviews, this chapter is now posted. It's been ready for a while, but I wanted to wait for more than one review. Same for this one. Even if the next chapter is written, I shalln't update until I get at least two reviews.


	27. No More Loud Sounds, Please!

Edit: Thanks to another story I was reading, I ended up looking at the...traffic? I guess that's what it's called. I never have looked that up for any of my stories, and I was surprised to see that lots of people read this...it makes me happy to know that more than just the two who usually review the chapters read this. ^_^ Thank you all.

DISCLAIMER: Need I say it? I mean really...we all know I wouldn't be writing this if I actually owned Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Symphonia:Dawn of the New World's characters or anything of the sort, right?

* * *

Chapter 26

Just as the group of travelers were about to reach Gaoraccia Forest, the one clad in red paused, eyes widening a bit. "Whoa...This place looks creepy."

Colette, enjoying the fact that she can talk instead of write on people's hands like she had to after losing her voice, directed a smile at her childhood friend. "Wow, Lloyd! It's so dark here."

"...Colette," Her fellow Chosen started uneasily. "You're awfully cheerful despite our surroundings..." Just after the blond apologized for what seemed like the thousandth time to Lloyd, the group accidentally ran into a trio of Papal Knights. The redhead sighed, his behavior nothing more than his usual laid back attitude. "Aw man, what are you all doing here?"

"Zelos, the Chosen." One of the knights began stiffly. "You are in the way of the Pope. Make things easy on yourself and allow your death to finally come." The three armor-covered soldiers charged forward, mainly at the Chosen of Mana.

With nothing more than a simple shrug, Zelos unsheathed his blade and retaliated as a soft chant could be hear in the back ground as well as the clashing of metal on metal to his right where Lloyd took on one of the knights.

"Wanna charge?" The young mage's voice called out moments before a spark light up the sky. "Thunder Blade!" As a result, a sword triple the size of the boy came crashing down upon one of the green armored knights, the surrounding shock wave connecting with another of them as well.

Their battle continued for a few minutes more until the last enemy fell to the ground with a clang. "We won, but now what are we going to do? If we don't hurry..."

"Yeah, brat, we know. They'll bring in reinforcements. Who cares? We'd beat them anywa-Ow! Sheena, what the hell?"

Said summoner glared at him. "We have to get out of here, Zelos. We can't just sit here and fight Papal Knights all day."

"Sure we could." The response was accompanied with a lazy shrug. "Our gorgeous beauty could heal us if need be, right?" He turned to Raine, whose expression somewhat mirrored Sheena's own as she shook her head. The idiot Chosen was about to ask why when a tight grasp took a hold of his wrist and its' owner began to drag him further into the forest. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Lloyd. I only go off with girls, alright? Besides, you-OW!"

"Shut up and let's get to Altessa's already."

* * *

Soft footsteps echoed throughout the hallway, stopping only when the being reached his destination. A hand rose to knock on the door before him, sapphire gaze hardening each moment he waited until the occupant opened it. The man was about to speak to the one within when he noticed it wasn't locked. He thought he'd never see what he saw at that moment. His best friend was asleep, or as best he could be, on the bed that all the rooms in that area had, even though none of those who lived in them could ever truly fall asleep. Chuckling, the bluenette softly made his way to the bedside. "Kratos." He began, a hand coming forth to shake the other into "waking up". "Come on, we both know you can't be sleeping. Neither of us has done that for thousands of years."

"Blame the crystals." Was the only response the half-elven man received, and it was a half-hearted murmur at best.

Yuan smiled. "While that is true, blaming things such as those don't get any of us anywhere. Now, blaming the uppity brat that thought of doing this..."

"**That** is an even less intelligent course of action, my friend."

While Kratos had been talking, Yuan turned to take a seat upon the closest chair, but heard the final words just before sitting down and turned quickly around to his sleepy friend. "Ah ha, so the almighty Kratos Aurion admits he has friends." That earned him a short chuckle as well as the revealing of a pair of garnet eyes from behind their lids. "What, I'm not allowed to joke in my old age?"

"You're not old, Yuan. You will never be 'old', simply because you have stopped aging."

_Now that's the old Kratos I used to know._ "I always knew you were smart, just not particularly open or adamant about it." The bluenette smirked, poking fun at the fact he had to teach Kratos of all people to stick up for himself back when they first met.

Sitting up, the light blanket he had been covering himself with falling to his waist, Kratos gave his friend a mocking glare. "At least I knew how to read, write, and calculate things, Yuan."

They both paused for a moment, only their even gazes meeting. It remained this way for maybe five minutes or so before Yuan's expression broke out into a grin, laughter erupting from within him as well. "I'm glad to have you back to your old self, Kratos, I really am." He brushed a few stray cobalt strands of hair back, a brow raising. "It wouldn't have anything to do with Lloyd, would it?"

"As a matter of fact, no. Although I did see him a few days ago in Sybak, it wasn't one of the more favorable encounters we've had."

* * *

Lloyd and his friends made their way through the forest until Colette stopped for a reason unknown to the others until she spoke. "I hear something...it sounds like footsteps a ways off...and the clinking of armor."

Her fellow Chosen gave the blond a slight disbelieving look. "Oh? I don't don't hear anything."

"You must remember Colette still has her angelic senses, Zelos." Rain reprimanded, glancing his way momentarily before turning to ask Colette where the sound was coming from. "That's not good. Isn't that the direction they told us Altessa lives?"

"Corrine!" Sheena called out. Moments later the small man-made summon spirit appeared before her. "Go see what's up ahead, alright?"

"Right away, Sheena!"

Not even a minute after the little fox left their presence, a man leapt down from one of the nearby trees and into the group's midst. Taken aback, Genis pointed at him. "You're that guy from the sewers! Are you following us just to-"

"I do not wish to fight any of you," The man responded. "I only wish to speak with that girl." While he spoke, the blue-haired male gestured toward Presea.

Immediately the young mage's voice rose in defiance. "Are you kidding? How could you possibly ask that when you tried to kill us last time?"

"While I cannot speak for any of the others, I never intended to take any of your lives. My-"

"Yeah, just threatened to kill me if the rest of us didn't do what you said," Zelos remarked.

Ignoring the idiot, the convict continued from where the redhead had cut him off. "My orders were to retrieve a girl named Colette." Looking towards the smallest female, his tone softened slightly. "I promise I will do no harm to you, Presea, am I correct?" She nodded, drawing his attention to her neck. The convict's gaze widened in surprise. "An exsphere?" He murmured to mainly himself, taking a step towards her. "Then are you yet another of those things' victims?"

Despite his words, Presea drew her weapon and attacked him, clearly thinking his advance meant he would go back on his promise.

"Presea, I mean what I say. I don't want to harm you." Unfortunately, only the one with pink hair had heard his words.

The sound of metal against wood rang out through the forest as Lloyd unsheathed both his swords. "I dunno who he is or what's going on, but we have to stop this guy!" Genis nodded in agreement.

Spinning around, the convict blocked the brunette's strike with one of his own, but soon found himself surrounded by all but the Sage siblings and Colette who remained out of the main battle's way in order to cast. All five of them stood where they were for a moment, the blue-haired man in the center of a very dangerous circle, in somewhat of a stalemate. "Please hear me out, I do not wish to harm anyone." That is until the pair of reckless swordsmen charged the convict from both sides, giving him a few choices: step backwards towards Presea, forwards closer to Sheena, try to dodge them both by crouching down or jumping into the air, or simply staying where he was a getting skewered by the two younger men. His choice? Obviously not the last one. Instead, the convicted male decided on the least of the evils and took as little time as possible back and close to Presea. Not only did he want to reach her with his reasons first, but she was also the one whose weapon couldn't be used as easily up close as he was. His actions caused Lloyd and Zelos to stop, neither wanting to accidentally hit Presea with their attacks.

"Now, I must ask you all to-"

"Angel Feathers!" The blond Chosen called out, sending a whirlwind of shining feathers directly towards the unknown man, causing him to falter for the brief moment her traveling companions needed to knock him unconsciously to the forest floor.

Raine hurried over to them, commanding that none of them go any further in their actions. "He sounds like he has his reasons." She informed, making sure to step closer to the fallen human than Lloyd was at the current time. "Perhaps we should take him prisoner? I'm sure he has much he could tell us."

"He does not seem to be hostile," Presea stated in her usual monotone.

"Sheena! Sheena!" The voice of a certain four-legged creature called out as he made his way back to his master's side. "Soldiers! Lots of them are headed this way!"

Hesitantly, Colette added to the already worsening news. "The footsteps...keep getting louder."

The unofficial leader glanced around at his companions at the news. "Since the Papal Knights are gonna be waiting for us if we continue forward or go back the way we came, what should we do?"

"We have to get outta here, Bud, what else?"

Sheena sighed, apprehension showing clearly upon her face. "I guess we have no choice. I'll take you to the village of Mizuho."

Her words confused the Sylvaranti of the party and alarmed Tethe'alla's Chosen. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Mizuho's a secret village. And aren't those things supposed to be kept, oh I dunno, **secret**?"

"There's nothing else we can do you stupid Chosen. We're trapped on both sides, and unless you want to die before we finish what's been started, then you can just stay here." The dark-haired summoner looker around at the rest. "Let's go. Zelos, carry the big guy for us."

Zelos took a step back. "Hey, I never said I was going with you guys, remember?"

"Zelos!"

"Fine, fine." The redhead conceded, muttering to himself as he went over and tried to pick up the unconscious male. "Man, the things I do for you, Bud." After a few attempts, he straightens to full height and gives Sheena and Lloyd a 'what more do you want from me?' look. "Me? You want to carry this ogre by myself? Are you kidding me?"

"Here, I'll help," Colette offered, stepping forward. "Zelos will have a hard time by himself."

Zelos grinned happily, reverting back to his usual carefree personality. "Aww, you're so nice, Colette!" The redhead stepped back to allow her by him. "We Chosens have to look out for each other, right my beautiful angel?"

Everyone paused, waiting silently to see how Colette would do if Zelos couldn't pick up the bluenette by himself. "Oh," she began, lifting him with only one arm. "He's lighter than I thought. I think I can carry him by myself..."

The redhead chuckled nervously, Raine's expression shifting to look over at him. "Men are **so** useless these days..."

* * *

A cold gaze stared out into the vast open air before him. It had been quite a while since he was there, but from the town's appearance, nothing had really changed much even though years upon years had gone by. To him it felt like only yesterday that he had traveled with his friends through town after town after village, seeking to bring about peace. Back then, he always felt like he was doing the right thing; like what they were trying to accomplish was worth the effort they all put into it every day.

Now, after the only one he knew for sure cared about him was killed, what did he have left? A world, no worlds, that hated and harmed his kin simply for being different. They were the bad guys in his young eyes. They took away the one person he held dear, for what? He wanted to know just what that human got in exchange for killing her. A sense of satisfaction that another half-elf was no more? A sense of justice? The half-elf's frozen gaze couldn't help but show a spark of slight humor at that word. Justice...He knew there was at least one human in both worlds who despised that word, and he was an enemy. But why was he an enemy? Wasn't that brown-haired boy trying to do what he and his friends had been trying to do during the war? Bring peace to the land...

Mithos shook his head in determination, eyes closing during the motion. He decided he needed to find out what this boy was truly like. This...son of Kratos.

* * *

"Have you completely lost your mind, Sheena?" A male dressed in mainly blue demanded once said summoner and her friends reached the entrance of Mizuho. "How could you bring outsiders here?"

On their way there, Sheena's expression has slowly lost accessibility to see her emotions, and now she could have passed for wearing a mask. "Orochi, I'm prepared to accept my punishment. Inform the Vice-Chief. I've brought the travelers from Sylvarant."

The Mizuhoan ninja simply scanned the group of people behind her. If he was surprised, no one could tell. "From Sylvarant? Is that not the Chosen with you, Sheena?" She nodded. "I see. Sheena, follow me." He glanced to the rest. "As for the rest of you, please wait in front of the Chief's house."

Shortly after the pair took their leave, Colette gently set down the convict upon the dirt. His eyelids twitched momentarily before he sat up of his own free will. "Hm? Where am I?"

Lloyd looked down to where their captive rested, a not so happy look upon his face. "You're our prisoner, so don't try anything funny. Got it?"

The oldest male's expression flattened out, completely devoid of his previous confusion. "I like to think that I'm smart enough not to start trouble when I don't understand the situation." This response resulted in most of Lloyd's fellow travelers to chuckle softly, Zelos being the worst and hiding his amusement...well, besides Genis.

"You guys are terrible, you know that?" The brunette commented, only causing the pair he spoke to to lose even more control over their laughter. Lloyd sighed. "Come on, we need to go over to the Chief's house like that guy said."

With Zelos in the lead, the group made their way to what was clearly the house they were looking for. After all, the man Sheena called Orochi was standing before the door to it. Upon entering, the seven of them heard an unfamiliar male's voice tell them that they could enter further in and that it would please the speaker if they would sit however they were comfortable. As they listened to his instructions, each of them saw Sheena sitting beside a man dressed quite formally. Most of them, not including Zelos and Lloyd, wondered if he was Mizuho's chief. The aforementioned pair just accepted the fact that there was some older guy there who Sheena respected, so why should they ask questions?

"Since our leader, Chief Igaguri, is ill, I, the Vice-Chief, Tiga, shall speak on his behalf. Because Sheena failed to kill the Chosen of Regeneration, we, the people of Mizuho, now face persecution from the Tethe'alla Royal Family...as well as the Church of Martel."

His words shocked everyone, even the convict who still had no real idea why they were in Mizuho. He had heard of the place, but wasn't Mizuho a secret village? And if so, how did travelers from the declining world of Sylvarant know where such a place was?

"Is that true?"

"Yes, that is true. At the very least, it is what I have heard." Tiga answered calmly despite Lloyd's loud outburst. He directed his gaze towards the said brunette. "Your name is Lloyd, is that correct?" The boy nodded. "Now I have a question for you, traveler of Sylvarant, what do you plan to do in Tethe'alla since this is the land of your enemies?"

Chocolate eyes stared in unwavering concentration as he responded to the Vice-Chief's question. "I've been thinking about that for a long time. Someone asked me why I came all the way to Tethe'alla…He asked me what it was I came here to do. And I know what I want to do here. I want to try and create a world where everyone can have a normal life. All throughout this journey, I've been hearing people saying 'that's just the way things are', but I'm tired of hearing such worn out and stupid excuses. I'm tired of people having to become sacrifices. I'm tired of living in such a terrible world that some needs to die just so everyone around them can live. Don't people realize that once you're dead, there's nothing you can do about anything anymore? Many Chosens have died on their Journeys of Regeneration on both sides; Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. I'm tired of discrimination. I can't stand seeing another person be treated like they don't even matter. Everyone's life has value, and I'm tired of people trying to make it seem otherwise. I'm tired of people becoming victims like Colette and Presea, Genis and Professor Sage, everyone. I'm tired that people are having to take the chance to lessen their pain by hurting others. I'm tired that people are suffering just because one person hates the rest of the world. I'm tired of it all."

Tiga's lips tilted up only a little at Lloyd's response. "You are an idealist. The worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant flourish only by victimizing the others. So as long as this structure remains the same, your words are nothing but only words."

Immediately Lloyd got to his feet, glaring at Tiga. "Then we need to change the structure of the two worlds! I think that if that Yggdrasill jerk created these two worlds, then someone else should be able to change them too!"

Despite his anger and Sheena's movement to stand, Tiga held out his hand to motion for her to remain where she was. He smiled, soft laughter emitting from where he sat, surprising those around him. "You speak like Mithos the Hero. It is said that he, too, was a sublime idealist. He ended the Ancient War by insisting there was a way for the two warring countries to coexist in peace." His gaze evened and his laughter ceased to look directly at Lloyd. "Are you saying you shall become the next Mithos?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No, I'm not saying I want to be Mithos, but I will say that I want to save both worlds from what Yggdrasill has done to them...With the help of my friends."

"…I see. In other words, wish not to follow past methods. Well then, we shall search for a new path as well. We shall have our best aid you in any way we can using our information network. In return, when the path of which you speak has been found, we wish to move our people to Sylvarant."

"B-but, I-I don't have any right to decide that for your people."

Tiga's tone softened. "All we ask of you is your aid in our move when the time comes."

"Alright then. Let's work together."

Tiga turned to his fellow Mizuhoan. "Then I hereby order Sheena Fujibayashi to accompany you on the rest of your journey as a representative of Mizuho." She allowed herself a small smile upon hearing his words. "Make us proud, Sheena." The summoner nodded.

"Hold on, Tiga," the voice of a certain redhead spoke up. "Are you sure you all wanna make the Tethe'allan Royal Family **and** the Church of Martel your enemies? Sounds kinda stupid to me."

Silence fell upon them all for a moment while the Vice-Chief thought over the Chosen of Mana's question. "What would you do, Chosen? If you had to chose between the forces that wish to continue this cycle of sacrifice and the forces that wish to change the current state of the worlds, which side would you choose?"

Zelos shrugged off-handedly. "I'd like to say, 'the one that's most likely to win'," he began, much to the shock of his fellow travelers. "...but I suppose I'd want to help the side that wants to preserve both worlds."

"Precisely the point, Chosen One. Now, the first thing we shall do is devote all our resources to locating the Rheairds Sheena spoke of. Fortunately, it appears that she attached a guardian to the Rheairds, so we should be able to locate them shortly. Please wait until we can be sure as to where they are. I shall send Orochi to your group's location when the time comes."

"Thank you for your help."

As the travelers and their captive leave the Vice-Chief, Zelos waited for everyone else to go ahead of him for once. Muttering to himself, his gaze locked on the dual swordsman's back. "Is this guy for real?"

They all traveled the way they had come in reverse, pausing momentarily near the entrance as Colette wondered as to what the convict's name was, as was her usual personality to get to know everyone she met.

"…It's Regal."

"Regal, huh?" Lloyd commented, the seriousness from earlier no longer anywhere in his tone of voice. "I'm sorry, but we're gonna have to keep you prisoner for a bit longer."

"Hey Lloyd, how about lettin' pops fight, too? I mean, he doesn't look like he could take down an army of Papal Knights for nothing ya know..."

Raine nodded. "I have to say I agree. Since Regal says he has business with Presea, it's doubtful he'd try to betray us until he got a chance to speak with her."

They all looked to the bluenette, anxiously awaiting his answer. He nodded. "I swear upon my good name, as well as these shackles that bind me, that I shall not betray you."

While the rest of them seemed satisfied with Regals' words, Presea's self-appointed guardian decided to make a remark. "If you do anything even the slightest bit suspicious, I'll burn you to a crisp, got it?"

"Genis!"

Lloyd sighed. "Let's just head for Altessa's place, alright?"

"...I…want to go home...to Ozette."

* * *

"Lord Yuan! News has just arrived telling of Lloyd Irving and his companions are traveling to the village Ozette."

The blue-haired male turned away from the papers he had been reading to see a man with hair that looked as if he had been through one too many lightning storms...or simply gotten too close to one of their security robot's electrical shots. "Botta, I have decided upon a new course of action concerning the boy. Not only does it require stealth, but I must ask you to chose only two to three of your best soldiers. They shall accompany me on this mission once all of the details are clear and I can find no flaws what-so-ever in my plan."

Botta nodded. "As you wish, Sir."

* * *

Upon entering Ozette, Presea immediately rushed away. The rest of her companions followed her down a short path made from a thick vine and passed by a man leaving the same house the pink-haired girl entered moments before them. "That smell…" Lloyd muttered, covering his nose out of disgust.

Raine strode over to a bed in the corner of the room that Presea completely ignored, having noticed it looked as if someone was sleeping there. "Oh my..."

"What the? This is so, not cool..."

They looked to where Raine and Zelos stood beside the bed, questioning looks upon all of their faces. The reasons varied, but they all still were wondering what was going on none-the-less. "This is most likely the effect of Exspheres' parasitism. Presea has no idea what's become of the person in that bed."

Regal turned towards the young woodworker as she continued to gather something from one place and set it down upon the bench in the other room. "Presea, are you not coming with us?"

"I must…do my job…"

Raine turned away and strode out of the house, taking a hold of both Genis' and Lloyd's wrists as she passed and dragged them out with her. She didn't bother to listen to their protests, and as soon as Colette, Zelos, Sheena, and Regal had all followed her and the half-elven teacher was sure neither of the young boys would move from where she left them, she released their wrists. "…Let's leave Presea here for now. If we try to mover her, she'll just fight against us. We should go see Altessa by ourselves and ask him if he will repair the Key Crest."

* * *

Dark green eyes gazed in doubt at the written plan before him. There wasn't any possible way that they could do what the young boy proposed, and it would be all because of himself. It would all fall apart because of others' hatred against half-elves. As the redhead thought over the possible outcomes, his best friend's cheerful voice continued to explain how they both would go about it. "...and I'm sure Director Schneider would allow us to borrow transport across the ocean if he knew it was to further research, so I was thinking we could see how much information we could gather from going directly to the sites of where my research has pointed to the most likely areas that we'd be able to find out more on the centurions." The young blond's lime gaze looked expectantly at the other. "So, what do you think?" His eyes shone with excitement.

Richter sighed in exasperation. "I think you're insane."

"Ah-what? Why?"

"Because you clearly didn't work the fact that half-elves are not allowed outside these walls into your plans," he replied, expression unreadable to most, but Aster could tell that his friend was amused by something within their conversation. "Just how were you expecting me to accompany you on these outings if the director doesn't allow my kind to leave?"

The words 'my kind' slightly angered the blond, his eyes narrowing a bit. "See, that's why people think you guys are different from them. You refer to half-elves as if you're all some sort of alien!" Richter chuckled for a moment at that, but Aster wasn't done kindly reprimanding his elder. "And as for your question, I've already asked Director Schneider if you'd be able to come with me as an escort since he still thinks I can't defend myself-"

"Which you can't."

Lime eyes looked sternly upon the redhead at his comment. "That's not the point, Richter! He's agreed to let you come with me." Aster turned away for a moment and dug around the piles of papers that laid upon their corner table until he unearthed a vert official-looking document. "See? Right here." He pointed to the middle of the main paragraph. "It states right here that Richter Abend has been given permission to act as an escort to the researcher known as Aster for the duration of his travels as long as the male stated above is able to defend and protect him." The blond's expression turned smug momentarily as he handed Richter the paper.

The redhead's eyes quickly scanned the document to verify Aster's claim, even though outside the walls of Sybak not many knew that half-elves could read. He paused at the mention of himself, a frown on his lips as he looked up at his friend. "You altered the wording. It-"

"I know, I know, okay? You know as well as I do that they wouldn't dare forget to mention that you're half-elven due to the laws about that, but I didn't see the need to mention that they-"

"It only tells what my name is once, and from that point on it refers to me as a half-elf," Richter continued on as if the boy hadn't interrupted him. "While it's good I shall be allowed to leave, you shouldn't alter things for my comfort."

Aster's gaze shifted to the cold floor of their laboratory as his excitement about going on a trip that would be who knows how long faded away. "I'm sorry, Richter, but at least they referred to you by your race instead of some of the terms we've both heard others call half-elves, right?" He looked up hopefully, clearly thinking changing the subject would distract Richter long enough for him to forget he was going to go off on a rant about how he disliked those who seemed to or simply did pity him. Richter nodded after a moment. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Sighing, the older of the pair stood from where he had been sitting and stepped closer to the wall to retrieve a trio of weapons: a thin katana-like blade with a black hilt, a short axe of similar design to the aforementioned sword, and one broad sword sheathed in light brown. He handed Aster the largest of them all and attached the others to his hip after discarding his white lab coat. "Then we should probably be heading out as quickly as possible. Sunset is coming and although Sybak has no gates like Meltokio, it's still not advised to leave during the night if one is to be thought of as more than a runaway." The boy copied his actions, folding his own coat neatly and setting it atop the table before equipping the weapon handed to him.

* * *

Upon reaching the only door they could find set in the side of a natural wall, Lloyd raised his hand to knock when a very loud robotic-sounding voice wondered, "WHO IS IT?"

The entire group flinched just a little bit at the volume of her question hurting their ears; Raine and Genis' the most. Before them appeared a young girl about half-way between Colette's and Sheena's ages with long, light green hair tied in a braid wearing a short, black dress with white and lime designs.

"Ah, sorry. We were told that there's a dwarf living here," Lloyd informed her. "Is there any way we could talk to him?"

When she gestured for them to come inside, it drew their attention to the fact that she wore long black sleeves that didn't connect to any other part of her clothes. "YOU DESIRE A MEETING WITH MASTER ALTESSA. PLEASE FOLLOW ME." Once again, her voice unknowingly caused the travelers' ears pain as she turned to guide them all into the house and showed them down a set of stairs to where a very short man was working. "MASTER, SOMEONE TO SEE YOU."

Altessa paused and turned to face them. "Who are you people and what do you want with me?"

The brunette was about to step forward when Zelos reached out and hand and grasped his shoulder with a muttered, 'lemme take care of this' to the younger boy. "We've come to ask you if you could help us. See, our friend Presea-"

"Leave."

"Wh-wha? What do you mean 'leave'? You haven't even listened to what we-"

The dwarf shook his head. "I want nothing more to do with that girl. Get out and leave me in peace. Tabatha, show these folks out."

She nodded silently, the rest of them thanking whomever or whatever they believed in that she didn't speak, and turned to walk by them all. Regal and Raine were the first ones to follow her, knowing when to give in with people like Altessa. When they neared the front door, Tabatha looked at them all, her expression apologetic. "I AM VERY SORRY. IF I HAD KNOWN YOU WERE GOING TO BRING UP PRESEA, I WOULD NOT HAVE ALLOWED YOU TO ENTER. THE MASTER DOES NOT WISH TO INVOLVE HIMSELF WITH HER AGAIN."

Ignoring the ringing in his ears, the reason for Genis' frown not quite clear to any of those around him. "Why not? Are you saying he doesn't care if she dies?"

Tabatha shook her head slowly. "IT IS NOT THAT. IT IS BECAUSE THE MASTER REGRETS WHAT HE HAS DONE."

"Then the least you could do is help her, right?" The young mage retorted angrily. "All he needs to do is fix her Key Crest."

From her pensive expression, it appeared that the young maid was pondering if she should say the words she was thinking of responding with. "…I DO NOT KNOW IF THAT WOULD TRULY BE IN HER BEST INTEREST."

"What? Why not? How could anything be worse than living as she is right now?" Lloyd demanded, his temper also beginning to rise at her answers. "All Presea's doing right now is waiting to die."

"IF YOU ARE THAT COMMITTED, THEN YOU SHOULD SEARCH FOR INHIBITOR ORE. SINCE HER'S IS NOT-"

"Tabatha!" Altessa shouted from his work place. "What are these people still doing here? I thought I told you to get them out of here!"

"I APOLOGIZE, I MUST RETURN. PLEASE COME BACK AGAIN. I WILL ATTEMPT TO PERSUADE HIM."

Raine took a hold of the pair of young boy's arms just below each of their shoulders, a word of parting to Tabatha just before dragging them outside. "You two need to control your emotions a bit better," she chided. "Be grateful we have more important things to do right now or I would punish you both."

Colette looked around at her friends, clearly worried. "Where can we find the inhibitor ore?"

"I have heard it has been mined in the mountain range between Altamira-"

"Whoa, Altamira?" Zelos interrupted excitedly. "Let's stop there on our way, okay?"

Sheena and Raine sighed, the former glaring at the Chosen. "There is no way we're stopping at that gaudy resort, got it you pervert?" She turned to Regal. "Don't mind the idiot. You were saying?"

Regal chuckled. "You needn't worry, I don't pay much attention to his words anyway. But I was going to say that we could probably find some inhibitor ore in the mines between Altamira and the Ymir Forest. If you're planning on creating a Key Crest for Presea, I would be more than happy to lead you there. Inhibitor ore is found relatively near the surface of the Exsphere mine. The mine I know of is across the sea from here, on the southern continent."

His words caused multiple reactions. Colette, Genis, Lloyd and Zelos were all happy about traveling wherever they needed to to help Presea...although not many believed Zelos was excited to skip Altamira just to go find inhibitor ore. Raine, on the other hand, paled in fear. "The sea?" She murmured to herself, already feeling slightly nauseous. "We're going out to sea again?"

They all hurried off in the direction Regal and mentioned, and Regal was about to follow them when a hand stopped his movement. Looking back, his light blue gaze fell upon none other than the Chosen of Mana. "This has been bugging me for a while now. Haven't we met somewhere before?" The convict shrugged off the redhead's hand, completely ignoring his question, and hurried to catch up to Lloyd and the others; the brunette wondering just what relation, if any, their newest traveling companion had to Presea. Seeing and hearing him respond that "there's none at all" annoyed the Chosen. With a scoff, he started after the rest at a slower pace, muttering. "Fine, ignore me. Not very friendly, are ya?"

* * *

You all know you want to review...


	28. Uhh, What'd He Say?

Wow, it's been over three months since I updated? 0_0 hmm...ah well. It's here now, and I'm pretty sure 28 shall be as well if I get some reviews.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tales of Symphonia (either one). They belong to Namco.

* * *

Chapter 27

Upon arriving at the mine Regal had mentioned and guided them all to, each member of the group had their own opinion on the area. For example, Zelos thought it contained a ghost or something along those lines where as Lloyd and Colette were excited about merely walking around inside and seeing what it was like. The sole bluenette paused momentarily, a slightly worried expression upon his face. "This isn't good."

Lloyd looked back, causing most of the others to copy his actions. "What's wrong, Regal?"

"The door's guard system is out of control." The convict explained, expression darkening even more. "Someone must have destroyed it when trying to force their way through." He watched in silence as the rest of them reacted just as he thought they would to the news.

"Then let's bust it up even more!" The lively dual swordsman responded excitedly.

Zelos shrugged, smirking at said brunette. "That's so like you, Lloyd. Plain, simple, and absolutely no way anyone could f-ow! Sheena!"

"I'm fine with that, too." Her hand made its way away from the Chosen of Mana's face as she spoke to Lloyd. Colette chimed in that she agreed with the summoner's words while the Sage siblings added their opinions that his idea was completely stupid. But despite all of their reasons and noted possible outcomes, the groups still charged forward and proceeded to destroy the guard system without the pair of half-elves.

"Alright! Way to go my beautiful hunnies!" The redhead cheered. "Now, let's go get that whatch-a-ma-callit."

Genis' blue gaze stared flatly up at the idiot Chosen. "Inhibitor ore,' he corrected, only to be brushed off with a "yeah, yeah, whatever brat".

Their newest member stood where he had been throughout the entire battle, watching each of the other travelers fight the robotic "enemies", as the rest of the band of travelers took off ahead. Regal's head titled slightly in silent amazement. "…They're all so violent."

* * *

"You there! Halt!" A very loud, obnoxious voice shouted as the sound of heavy footfalls rumbled from the ground.

The older of the two ceased immediately, strands of tied back red hair lifting in the air as he turned around to face the on-coming soldiers. His companion was a bit slower but he, too, spun to face the small group of humans that called out to them. It was the shorter male, the blond, that responded verbally. "Is there a problem, Sir?" He wondered calmly, stepping about an inch or so in front of his friend. The boy's light green eyes narrowed in slight curiosity as to why they had been stopped as well as concern for his traveling companion's welfare.

A nod from the frontmost solider gave a bit of an answer. "We have been informed that a runaway half-elf of Sybak has been seen in this area as of late." As he spoke, two of his fellows closed the gap between themselves and the travelers. They went through the normal procedures of taking a small blood sample from each of them.

"Sir! We've found the rogue half-elf."

All eyes turned to Richter's except for the boy he was traveling with; who kept his eyes on the group of soldiers, for he didn't quite trust them enough to behave as he did his redheaded friend. "Are you going to-"

"Silence, half-elf," the leader commanded harshly, not seeming to think the young male was even worth a gald. He gestured swiftly with one hand, and the two closest to Richter immediately grabbed for his arms just below the shoulders.

Aster couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight, knowing full well that his companion could have easily dodged both of them if he wanted to. "I see you've trained your dogs well, Sir. They respond with only a single motion." To the untrained ear, the boy sounded completely civil...and that was just it: to all but those who knew the minuscule change in his tone when mocking someone without wanting them to notice. The leader beamed at the apparent compliment, but Richter remained silent; chuckling to himself on the inside.

Another nod. "Yes, we do not allow for mistakes in communication nor any other area from the beginning onward. I'm sure you were not aware of this vile creature's deception, so I shall give you the opportunity to continue on your way without any consequences. If you choose not to do so, I shall have my men shackle you and bring you back to town. This filthy half-breed we shall deliver to Meltokio for execution immediately."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Without even the slightest change in his polite, civil expression, Aster held up a hand while the other searched through his pouch in order to extract a pristine white envelope. His actions confused the armored ones among them, but he offered no explanation except to take out a sheet of paper from the envelope, unfold it, and begin reading:

"_By consent of Director Schneider, the half-elf known as Richter Abend shall hence forth accompany the human researcher Aster upon his journey outside Sybak's limits in order to gain more information for his study. The half-elf mentioned shall be allowed leave as long as protection of the half-elf's charge is put foremost in mind; above any and all other obligations. This is to be read to any who question the legality of Aster's statements that the half-elf with him is to remain so._"

Lime green eyes stared directly into the darker ones of the commanding officer's. "So you see, I cannot allow any of your men to take him away, nor are any of you legally able to do anything to either of us." He turned halfway away towards his friend. "Richter, we really should be going." Before all of their eyes, the redheaded dual-weapons user easily slipped out of the pair of soldiers' grasps without so much as voluntarily touching them much less attacking either of the metal clad fools. Aster glanced back at the leader briefly before starting off on his way, Richter stepping beside but also a step or two behind the boy. "Good day, Sir."

* * *

Deeper into the mine, Lloyd and his friends were walking down a path when the youngest of them all spotted a chest off to their left. He dashed towards it as quickly as he could, the others following shortly after him, but a call of "hey, loser!" caught his attention. Thus Genis looked all around him to see who had spoken so rudely to him, and then finally looked down to see a small creature wearing a bright hat upon his head. "Whoa, it talks!"

"Of course I talk! You'd better watch your mouth!"

Lloyd's eyes lowered to gaze uninterestedly down at the little man. "It's not very civilized…" He spun around to glare at Zelos after hearing the redhead's remark of "you can't really say much yourself, bumpkin".

"I'm a journey to find and eat some potion. It's something that's only for adult that makes them feel good." He stared impatiently at them all. "You losers got any?" They looked around at one another, slightly confused. Eat a potion? Zelos shrugged, stepping up with a bottle filled with a fizzing purple drink, a potion from his hometown of Meltokio. "Is this it? Is this stuff really potion? Good job, losers!" He proceeded to stuff the entire thing into his mouth, bottle and all, much to the travelers' surprise. Everyone was silent as they awaited the little one's decision of a potion. Well Zelos who was looking off to his right in the direction of his bud and Sheena since he couldn't care less... "It doesn't taste like anything!" He frowned. "If this is what I've been traveling so far and long to find, then I just wasted the precious time I could've spent with Gnome! What a lame quest!" Without even a farewell of any sort, the creature left the group in stunned silence.

". . . Did he say Gnome?" Sheena wondered. "As in, the Summon Spirit? How can a little thing like that know Gnome?"

"I would assume we have just come in contact with what is called a Gnomelette," Regal responded evenly, his explanation resulting in a murmur of slight understanding to sound throughout part of the group around him...well, from at least Sheena and Raine anyway.

As they continued on, a certain redhead stepped onto a slightly raised platform, that once his weight was atop it, immediately lowered to become even with the rest of the ground surrounding it. That one action caused a humongous boulder to begin rolling down behind them, a shout of "run for your lives, bumpkins!" soon following as the one whom had made trouble started the made dash down the earthen path, his bright pink outfit leading the way. As soon as he saw the chance to avoid danger, Zelos swerved to the right onto a ledge that, although it looked a bit questionable, appeared safe.

"Whoa, that was close! What was-"

"What do you mean 'that was close'?" Sheena demanded, rounding on Zelos once the boulder had fallen off the cliff. "You're the one that could have gotten us all killed!" A hand rose to swiftly slap the Chosen of Mana across his face. "I ought to slap you!"

Cringing, Zelos began to mutter something about speaking in the proper tense, but instead got interrupted by Regal. "I'm terribly sorry to have forgotten about that. That was a trap to stop intruders."

"Man, pay attention to what you're doing then!"

As always, the bluenette ignored his words, continuing on explaining how he should have remembered about the trap and also how to disarm it.

It was only a few steps, with Zelos in the lead once more, before their leader flew back into the person directly behind him that just so happened to be Lloyd. The brunette surprisingly caught the fly away redhead before he was able to crash to the hard ground, and without a second glance towards the older male in his arms, looked up to see what had caused the sudden misdirection of movement. "Whoa! What's this spinning thing?"

"That would be what is known as a Naploosa Bacura."

At that moment Raine's eyes widened to an amusedly large diameter, her hands clasping together. "Regal, do you mean-you can't-that's the great Professor Naploosa's..." The convict nodded in response to her unasked question. "That would mean it's a device made of concentrated mana in physical form!" Her eyes glazed over, hands coming up to about the height of her shoulders and began babbling on and on about the facts behind the creation and everything else that had to do with the Naploosa Bacura; and some that didn't really have any relevance to it at all. Yup, Ruin Mode...kinda scary in a pair of teenage males' opinions.

While she was freaking out about the "precious ruin", the rest of her group tried to figure out how they were going to be able to get past it. At Regal's mentioning that a powerful impact may help their situation, the brunette, still holding Zelos for some reason, suddenly got one of his only good ideas since the beginning of the journey. "What if we get that trap boulder to crush it?"

"You better be grateful Raine isn't listening to you, Lloyd," Genis remarked. "She'd force you to eat her cooking if she heard you were planning on destroying a ruin."

They proceed to retrace their steps, using the only one stupid enough to allow himself to be used as a decoy that could possibly get terribly injured or killed. So as the rest of them watched safely from the extended edge that he would hurriedly dash to, Zelos attempted to get the Bacura to follow him far enough that it would get crushed by the trap boulder but he wouldn't. At this result, a certain silver-haired black mage was slightly upset at seeing that his main annoyance survived. Much to his sister's distress, the Naploosa Bacura lay in multiple pieces on the mine floor below. . . never to move or exist as a complete whole ever again.

"Wait a moment." Raine told them. "There seems to be something down there besides the Naploosa Bacura's remains. The rest of them stepped beside her as she asked Regal if there was anyway she could get down safely.

He explained with a nod, telling about how there should be a working elevator back a ways. "Although I suggest we disable the trap before going back there."

* * *

Silence reigned over the leader of Cruxis, thoughts of how he would go about his plan running through his mind only to be replaced by another, seemingly more ingenious idea. The young boy sat momentarily before taking to his feet in order to begin pacing; a hand absent-mindedly turning a deep purple bracelet around and around his wrist. Hours upon hours passed in a blink of an eye, his focus solely upon his goal.

Suddenly, a soft knock on the door behind him warranted his attention. The blond turned to it, a flash of brilliant light appearing and disappearing to reveal the one known by Lloyd and his friends as "Yggdrasill". He gestured slightly with a hand, the door opening as a result.

"Ah, Pronyma, you have something to report I expect."

For some reason the blond couldn't comprehend, his oddly dressed subordinate refused to touch the ground and instead floated into the room with a short nod. "Yes, Lord Yggdrasill." She responded, her green hair tied back as it always was. "I have information that you may find quite interesting. You see, it would seem that there is a traitor amongst us."

* * *

"…I think this will do. Later, once Presea has returned to her normal self, let's have Dad or Altessa make a real Key Crest for her."

Regal nodded. "Thank you, Lloyd. Let us return then. It's unbearable to leave Presea in such place for very much longer." With that, the travelers made their way towards the entrance of the mine, makeshift Key Crest in hand. However, they soon came upon a trio of males: two soldiers and another whom seemed to be leading their little group. "Vharley!" Lloyd had only seen one person's expression to be so filled of anger and hatred as Regal's was at that moment, and that person was Kratos.

The man turned to face them, a mischievous grin upon his face. "Ah, Regal. So you're the one who destroyed the guard system outside."

"Wait a minute, aren't you an Exsphere broker?" The Chosen of Mana questioned. "What the hell are you doing here?

"Indeed. Why has the Pope let you stay free?" Regal demanded. "That's not what I agreed to!"

Vharley burst out laughing at the pair's statements, eyes meeting the convict's. "Did you think the Pope would really keep his promise to someone like you? To a murderer?" His tone filled with amusement. "And clearly you've forgotten your promise to bring us Colette! Instead you've joined up with her and her little squad of losers!"

Regal stepped forward, as if planning to attack the green-clad man. "Silence! If the Pope won't fulfill his promise, then I shall punish you myself!" Before he could, the three men turned tail and ran away as quickly as they could.

Everyone glanced at the blue-haired male, some in confusion while others simple apprehension. Colette tilted her head to the side. "Regal, why did that man call you a murderer?

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Her fellow Chosen wondered.

Sighing, Regal looked around at his temporary companions. "I am a prisoner serving time for the crime of murder. I won't blame any of you if you look down on me for what I have done, and I do not expect any of you to forgive my actions. All I ask is for you to allow me to continue with you back to Ozette. I shouldn't even ask for you to keep such a man like me in your presence, especially that of the Chosen of Regeneration-"

"Hey! I'm a Chosen too you know!"

He continued speaking, completely ignoring the redhead's protest. "For I do not deserve such company after committing such a foul crime."

They all stared in silence, stunned that the man could be so depressing so easily. "Uh...If it makes you feel any better, Regal, I've killed many innocent people as a result of my stupidity." Lloyd remarked. "Do you mind telling what happened exactly?"

Regal shook his head. "Explaining and giving excuses are not acceptable, nor do they lessen my sin."

"Um, Mr. Regal? I don't know how to explain it very well, but I think we have the Goddess inside all our hearts. So I think the Goddess also bears the burden of your sins with you. Um…that's all."

"Hmm…Perhaps someday I will have the opportunity to tell the story…I apologize, but thank you for your kind words, Chosen of Regeneration."

Colette's sky eyes widened, stuttering awkwardly for a moment. "Oh, um...please, just call me Colette."

* * *

Upon arriving back in Ozette, Colette ran into one of the Papal Knights who were standing in a small group near the entrance. "Oh, I'm sorry..."

The armored men immediately turned around, their leader having been the one the blond had crashed into. "You there! Are you the Chosen of Regeneration?"

"Well, you see, I-"

"No." Zelos interrupted. "No she's not."

Raine sighed at the fool's failed distraction as the knights soon all turned on the redhead for being the Chosen of Mana. After all, he flaunted it enough that everyone in Tethe'alla knew what he looked like. His actions resulted in a battle between the five Papal Knights against Lloyd, who couldn't stand by and watch, Sheena, who despite the redhead's usual attitude knew he was a good person deep down inside, Colette, who fought because her friend was in trouble, and Zelos, because he stupidly caused the fight. While the four did so, the rest continued on their way to Presea's house; acting as though they didn't know any of the others.

After the final knight fell to the ground unconscious, Colette had pleaded Sheena and Zelos not to kill any of them, the four of them looked around for their companions.

Zelos crossed his arms in front of his chest in annoyance. "What the hell? Why'd those three go off without us?" He scoffed. "Some friends they are, but what can you expect from a stupid little half-Ow! Sheena!"

"You had better not have been going to say 'half-elf' you jerk!" The dark-haired ninja reprimanded. "Genis and Raine are better people than you will ever be, got that? Just because you're the Chosen doesn't give you a right to talk about people like that!"

As he rubbed his cheek lightly in hopes of dulling the pain from Sheena's slap, Zelos' eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah, sure, Sheena. You go ahead and try to sound all righteous and peaceful when we all know you're still scared of half-elves yourself at times. And besides, that was uncalled for. I wasn't even gonna say 'half-elf'."

"Then what-"

"Half-pint."

"Huh?" His companions all blinked in confusion.

"I was about to say 'half-pint'." Zelos explained, a hand making a circle in the air before him. "You know, the brat. Genis? It was meant to be a comment about how short that little annoyance is. Don't you-Ah, what the hell, Lloyd?" He coughed out his final words, doubling over after a fist made contact with his stomach.

Chocolate orbs glared at the redhead. "Don't you dare talk about my best friend like that!"

"Well sorry! You all know he and I don't get along very well."

Quite suddenly, Colette fell to her knees, cringing in pain. A series of muttered "ow"s sounding from where she had fallen and Lloyd immediately knelt beside her. "Are you alright?" He looked up at the other two for a moment before someone quite familiar came into his line of vision: Presea.

"Please...leave this...to me."

With a nod, everyone took a step back. No one moved in the slightest for a moment until Presea drew her axe and attempted to attack the brunette. She then knocked Colette unconscious just as the man they had passed by near the young Ozette inhabitant's house appeared beside her with words of congratulations. Without another word, he summoned a pair of dragons, one taking the blond within its' claws and the other allowing the suspicious man to mount it in preparation for flight. "I am Rodyle! The most cunning of the Desian Grand Cardinals! I hope you don't mind me taking the Chosen One. Hehehehehehehe!" He left, the pair of dragons taking off without more than just Colette and himself, leaving the rest of them to stand there in confusion; all of them thinking Rodyle's laugh to be a bit disturbing.

"Lloyd, what happened? Where's Colette?" Genis wondered, rushing towards his best friend as his sister and Regal followed closely behind him.

The brunette male shook his head, "Never mind that, we should help Presea before we even think of doing anything else."

"But what about my cute little angel?"

Lloyd ignored the male's question as he stepped closer to Presea, the makeshift Key Crest in his hand. He placed it onto the Exsphere just below the pink-haired girl's collarbone, everyone around him waiting silently for something to happen.

Then, all of a sudden, Presea's eyes cleared slightly from their previous hazy state as she looked around. "...What? What's going one?" She gasped, her voice higher and more child-like than the monotone they had come to know as her voice. "Where's my daddy?" She immediately rushed away and down to her house. None of the others were quick enough to stop her from finding out about her father on her own, a loud scream echoing throughout the entire nearby area as she discovered what had happened. "Daddy!" Regal was the first to enter, taking a hold of the young girl's shoulder and moving her away from the bed. Tears fell from her eyes, her entire body shaking from the shock, murmurs of "what have I been doing?" repeatedly being voiced softly.

As Genis and Regal tried to comfort her, the others began the careful process of burying Presea's father. After a he and Genis were able to calm her down, Regal and the others all gathered around the grave. Presea looked around at her companions. "I want to thank you...for what you have done for my father."

"Have you calmed down a little?" Raine wondered.

The shortest female nodded. "I'm sorry to have been such a burden on you all. I remember...most...of what I have done before today, and I hope you'll forgive me."

"Why did you have an Exsphere?"

"A person named Vharley gave it to me," she responded, turning to meet Genis' gaze as she answered. Her words caused most of their expressions to darken, especially Regal's. "I wanted to save my sick daddy. I wanted to learn how to wield an ax, so I could work in my daddy's place. So Vharley introduced me to Rodyle, and I was taken to the Research Academy in Sybak."

"Presea," Raine began, her tone curious. "Do you have any other family?"

Another nod from the young one. "I have a younger sister. She left to go into service for a noble, and that was the last time I've seen her. My mommy died when I was a child."

Zelos let out a laugh. "When you were a child? You still are a child."

"At any rate, we can't just leave you here in this village by yourself if you have no one to turn to.

"Sheena's right. The people of this village seem to avoid you."

Presea looked towards the ground, her left hand twitching slightly. "If it's alright with you all, I...uh...I'd like to go with you…It's my fault that Colette was taken away. So please, let me help in her rescue."

"I would like to come along as well," the convict added. "It seems that my fate is linked to your enemy."

Genis, Raine, Sheena, and Zelos all looked to Lloyd, who stepped back in shock. "Wh-what? You want me to decide? I was kinda wondering if you guys would be okay with it."

Sheena shrugged. "We've come all this way together. Do you even need to ask at this point?" Zelos and Genis nodding in agreement with the summoner.

"…Truthfully, I'd like to oppose the idea, but I already knew it would end up like this," Raine remarked, but didn't really sound too much like she objected to the somewhat unanimous vote.

Both Regal and Presea thanked them all, promising never to betray any of their trust. With that decided, they all turned and were about to leave Ozette when a very familiar male with auburn hair came into their line of sight. "So you've lost the Chosen."

Lloyd stepped in front of his friends, eyes narrowed in a glare. "What have you done with Colette you, traitor?"

Despite the hatred radiating off the young male, Kratos merely responded calmly. "Rodyle is ignoring our orders and acting on his own. I know nothing of it." He continued just as Raine was about to speak, an insult clearly ready upon her lips. "No matter what you think, he will have no choice to abandon the Chosen. She is useless as she is now. You can let her be."

The sounds of a pair of swords sliding against their sheaths as they were drawn met all of their ears. "You have got to be kidding me! We're gonna rescue Colette, and if you try to get in our way..." the brunette teenager charged the Seraphim, only to be easily blocked several times over. After maybe five minutes of Lloyd trying to land a scratch on the angel, Kratos finally deflecting the boy hard enough for the brunette to fly backwards and land on the ground with a thud.

"Then, I suggest you seek the Rheairds and head for the eastern skies," the eldest male responded evenly as if he hadn't just finished a short battle, sheathing his blade with a small glance to Sheena before looking back at Lloyd. "I'm sure the people of Mizuho have located the Rheairds by now." With that, he unfurled his wings and took off, leaving the travelers in stunned silence.

After a moment, Zelos strode over and offered a hand to help Lloyd back to his feet. His blue eyes met brown for a second, then he turned away. "Talk about arrogance," he remarked. "But anyway, if he's useful, why not make use of him?"

"I agree. Anyway, let's head back to Mizuho for now." Sheena then led the way, Raine, Regal and Lloyd following shortly behind her, leaving the two youngest and the Chosen of Mana near the house. Genis had wanted to officially welcome the pink-haired woodsman to their band of traveling misfits. "But not to worry my cute little Presea, I'll protect you." The redhead assured her.

With a nod, she thanked him before beginning to follow the others.

Genis opened his mouth to say something, but the idiot Chosen had started off as well. "I'll…I'll…" He sighed, glaring at the pink-clad male's back. I'll protect you too. . .Argh! Stupid Chosen!"

* * *

"But he needs to stay here as well." A teenage male of about sixteen stated. "Without his presence, I'm completely defenseless!"

The inn keeper shrugged. "I'm sorry, but we don't rent rooms out to half-elves. Even if this halfbreed's your bodyguard, I can't have word of me sheltering such filth get around town. Surely you understand how bad it'd be for my business. No one would want to stay here if they knew."

The teen paused, giving the elder human male an extremely polite smile. "Then I suppose I'll be staying somewhere else." He looked towards his half-elven companion. "Does just outside in the forest sound like a good place to rest for the night, Richter?" Noticing the look in the light green eyes directed at him, the redhead nodded. Turning back towards the inn keeper, "I'm sorry, Sir, but since you won't allow my companion to take shelter here as well, I must bid you farewell."

Aster then started towards the door, bits of what he was talking to his friend about reaching the other human's ears. The words "monsters", "dangerous", and "Gaoracchia" causing him to throw caution to the winds and call the boy back...the notion that he wouldn't get any gald wasn't all that of a good result to him either. "W-wait, young man."

The blond turned back, the same too polite smile upon his face. "Yes?"

"...You both can stay."

With that, the pair of travelers set up to their room after the young blond paid the wanted 1500 Gald for the room. They both suspected the inn keeper had made them pay more than usual due to Richter's presence, but neither really cared enough to demand a reason for the other's actions.

A small leather bag fell to the floor at the foot of one of the two beds within the room, the one whom had been carrying it then laying down upon the mattress with a sigh. "You shouldn't have done that, Aster," the voice of the blond's companion floating over to him from where Richter stood beside his own bed. "If you continue to do this every time someone refuses to help us because of me, you risk the chance of getting into worse trouble than you expect." Yes, despite what the redhead wanted others to believe, he was sincerely concerned for his best friend's welfare; not just worried about the boy because of the difference in their races.

Aster sighed. "I don't care if they have a problem with me, Richter. It's the fact that they're making trouble for you just because you're a half-elf. It really-"

"Doesn't matter," the older of the two interrupted evenly. "You know I'm not the type of person that cares what others think." His words earned a scoff in return. "What?"

The blond's head rose inches from the pillow beneath it, turning to look the other straight in the eye. "That's not what you were like when I first met you."

With nothing more than a glance off to the side, Richter proceeded to lay down and sleep, completely ignoring his friend's attempts to continue their conversation. That is, until one remark from the human male caused him to sit up and practically glare at the blond. "I am not a dog."

"You sure act like one sometimes," Aster responded with a small shrug of his shoulders. "But anyway, good night, Richter."

"Night."

* * *

Silence prevailed throughout the small room, only a few pieces of furniture within it. A brunette male stood straight before his leader behind the desk, humungous red weapon in hand. He watched as the bluenette man before him continued to read the daily reports from each of their group's commanders. "...Sir?"

The leader paused, then his sapphire gaze met that of his subordinate. "What is it, Botta?" Despite his words, the man didn't sound at all angry. If anything, the two of them could almost be considered friends.

"Are you sure this plan will work?"

He nodded. "Even though he may be keeping an eye on them, as are Yggdrasill's orders I would assume, Kratos is not a threat to us as he is now. It is Lloyd Irving you should be concerned about. No one can be sure how that Exsphere of his will affect his abilities, for it very well be the only thing keeping his from dying in battle."

"But, Lord Yuan, what if-"

"No, Botta," Yuan shook his head. "We have no need to worry about 'what if's. We need the boy alive. I'd say a visit to our friend is due, wouldn't you?" With a smile in understanding, the brunette bowed and left the room. He left his leader alone, knowing the words were as much of a dismissal he was going to give. Once he knew the other had gone, Yuan turned back to the paper atop his desk with a sigh. It wasn't a formal Renegade document as Botta had thought, but it was indeed quite a special piece of paper. The words weren't all that significant, but the pair of signatures that were signed at the bottom pained the bluenette's heart. "If only we could have gone through with it..." He glanced at his hand, which soon clenched. "And I hadn't lost that ring."

* * *

"I can't believe that arrogant jerk was right," Zelos commented as he and his fellow travelers made their way towards the Temple of Lightning. "They actually found the Rheairds." As he spoke he glanced at Sheena. "Guess you Mizuho folk are better than I expected." She glared at him, slapping him across the face for good measure. "Ah, hey! That was a compliment!"

Not many in their traveling party paid attention to him, but a certain pink-haired female turned to look at the redhead in confusion. "If it was a compliment, why did you get attacked?"

"Presea, there are times when it would be better to simply ignore Zelos," Regal advised as they entered the temple.

She nodded. "Ah, okay."

The travelers made their way through the temple, using the Sorcerer's Ring to destroy odd colored blocks in the pathway. Once they had found a trio of different colored stones, one on top of the next, Lloyd tried to destroy them all with the same type of lightning from the ring. To none but his own surprise, he only succeeded in getting rid of one. At Genis' suggestion, they left the room to search for something that would allow them to destroy the other two.

"I'm bored..." A certain brunette dual swordsman complained loudly, attracting the attention of at least five monsters.

"Well there you go, Bud! You ask for something to do any they shall answer your call," the Chosen of Mana remarked before striking a Gold Slime with a call of "Hell Pyre!"

A glowing light blue mana circle appeared below the silver-haired black mage as he used his kendama to concentrate on the element of the spell he was trying to cast upon a Lamia. "May the merciless embrace of frost take you." With a final thrust of the toy he used as a weapon, the young half-elf called out. "Absolute!" Extremely sharp icicles pierced the mermaid-like monster, a shriek of pain sounding as strike after strike made contact. He looked over at his best friend. "Hurry up, Lloyd! We can't waste too much time here. Destroy that Lightning Sword so we can find Volt and make a pact. Who knows what Colette's having to deal with right now!"

"Alright, alright. Man, you sound like the Professor." The boy replied before calling out. "Hey Zelos, you ready?" The redhead nodded from where he stood West of the Lightning Sword where as Lloyd had been attacking it from the North. "Cross Thrust!" The pair shouted, simultaneously using Sonic Thrust against the monster. It fell to the ground, lifeless. With that, they continued on, returning to the room once they had found out how to alter the lightning coming from the Sorcerer's Ring.

The destruction of the third stone caused a bright light to shine into all of their eyes, the smarter ones looking away as not to be blinded by the glow. As it dimmed, the spherical Summon Spirit of Lighting known as Volt appeared before them.

"It's finally time," Lloyd commented, looking to Sheena.

She stepped forward with a nod in response and faced Volt, who inquired of her, "Jeg er en som er bundet til Mithos. Hvem er du?"

The summoner took a step back in fear. "It-It's just like before! What the hell is he saying?"

"Sheena, calm down," Raine responded soothingly. "I'll translate." Volt repeated himself, the half-elven white mage translating his words. "I am one who is bound to Mithos. Who are you?"

Lloyd's head tilted in confusion. "Mithos again? How could he make pacts with Summon Spirits in both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant?"

However, his question went unanswered as Sheena tried her best to make a pact. "I am Sheena! I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos and establish a new pact with me."

"Min pakt med Mithos har blitt brutt, men jeg ønsker ingen pakt med noen stadig mer." Volt stated, Raine quickly translating what he said into words Sheena and the others could understand. "He says that his pact with Mithos is broken, but he no longer desires a pact." A gasp sounded throughout most of the group standing before the Summon Spirt, the dark-haired ninja wanting to know why. "Jeg vil ikke ha mer befatning med folk," To much of their surprise, Raine was able to translate partially as he spoke. "I will have no more dealings with people," she paused. "...derfor jeg ønsker ingen pakt." Her tone remained even, despite the message she delivered. "Therefore, I desire no pact."

Sheena drew her cards, setting her feet into an offensive stance. "No way! We need your help!" She demanded moments before Volt sent them all flying away from him, and off the side of the second floor to the first, with bolts of lightning. "Watch out, you guys! This is just like before!" The Mizuhoan stood, facing Volt in defiance. He sent a ball of lightning towards her, but just as it was about to make contact, Corrine dove in front of her; taking the full force of the strike. "Corrine!" Sheena dashed to the small fox's side, taking his tiny form into her arms. "Corrine, why?"

Once more, a ball of lightning came towards the summoner only to be deflected by a pair of swords. "Sheena! Get a hold of yourself! You need to concentrate!"

Weakly from his place cradled by his friend, the manmade summon spirit gave his final words of encouragement. "Volt's…just lost his faith in people. Make your vow and try forming a pact one more time. You can do it, Sheena! I'm sorry…that I couldn't be of more help." His words were spoken softly into the air, Corrine breathed his final breath, and then laid motionless as Sheena held him. "No, Corrine! Don't die, please don't die, Corrine!"

As Lloyd made sure Volt didn't succeed in attacking her, a pair of footsteps echoed throughout the room as the Chosen amongst them ran to Sheena's side. "Come on, we've gotta beat Volt, by force if necessary, right? Besides, you're not gonna let Corrine's effort go to waste are ya?" Zelos questioned, all emotion suddenly leaving his voice. "If you do, you're gonna spend the rest of your life haunted by Volt's shadow."

Sheena shakily got to her feet and faced Volt quite defiantly. "...For the sake of everyone that have risked their lives to protect me, Volt! I demand your power!" With that, she charged forward with engraved cards in hand. "Pyre Seal!"

The redhead smirked, joining in the fray with Lloyd, Presea, and Regal while the Sage siblings stayed back and cast. He quickly doubled back, noting the circle of bright red encircling the floating orb. A call of "Reduce these evil souls to ashes. Explosion!" Confirmed his suspicions that their little black mage was attacking. As Volt fell, Zelos felt a surge of power within him. As he dashed towards the Summon Spirit in order to get as close as he could before releasing the large amount of mana, the Chosen of Mana called out. "I'll show you what I'm made of!" The male leapt into the air, bright lights appearing in a flash all around him. "Shining Bind!" Landing, he turned to his fellow Tethe'allan. "Now, Sheena!"

"I call upon the maiden of the mist. I summon thee. Come, Undine!" With her call, the Summon Spirit of Water appeared before Volt and rose her hands. A burst of water shot up beneath him, successfully knocking him down onto the ground.

Once Volt made contact, he didn't move all that much for a few moments. Then rose only an inch or two into the air, looking at Sheena directly with his red eyes. "Gjør ditt løfte."

"Make your vow," Raine stated.

With a nod, the summoner met the Summon Spirit of Lightning's gaze, Undine standing beside her. "Like I said before, for the sake of everyone that have risked their lives to protect me, and for Corrine's sake as well, I want to find a way to save both worlds."

"Jeg godtar løfte. Jeg overlater min makt til pakten-maker, Sheena." Volt then turned to Undine, the two of them conversing in the same language the Tethe'allan Summon Spirit had been using the entire time.

Realizing she shouldn't even bother trying to translate the pair at the quickened pace they were speaking at, Raine strode over to Sheena's side, her expression quite glad. "What? What did he say?"

"He basically said he accepts your vow, and will entrust his power to you."

All of a sudden, the young ninja found herself getting tackled by someone short, silver-haired, and clad in light blue. "You did it, Sheena!" Genis cheered happily, moments before they all felt the ground beneath them shake. "Wha-what's going on?"

Undine and Volt ceased in their conversation to turn and face the travelers, neither of their expressions readable. Then again, Volt's face was just a pair of eyes and it made Lloyd wonder just how he even talked. But he was. "De to motstridende mana styrker har blitt kuttet."

"Wait a moment," the silver-haired female began. "Did you just say that a pair of opposing forces of mana have been severed?"

Undine nodded. "Mana flows from the world in which the Summon Spirits sleep to the world in which their opposing Spirits are awake." The Summon Spirit from Sylvarant explained calmly. "Since this is the first time both the Summon Spirits of Water and Lightning have been awakened at the same time since the division of the worlds, the mana link connecting the two worlds has been eliminated."

Lloyd's head tilted to the side in confusion. "Does that mean that Sylvarant and Tethe'alla have stopped competing for each other's mana?"

"Jeg vet ikke. Det eneste sikkert er at strømmen av mana mellom verdens har blitt kuttet." Volt stated, once more causing the dual-swordsman to try and figure out how he did it. Raine translated, telling those who couldn't understand the Summon Spirit that he didn't know why it had happened, just that it had indeed occurred.

"So does this mean Sylvarant and Tethe'alla will split apart if we awaken all of the Summon Spirits?"

Zelos sighed. "Midget, that means I have to go on the Regeneration Journey, but not gain all the abilities our darling Colette did when she did it for you bumpkins' world." A glare from both Sheena and Raine caused the redhead to continue, although his voice did sound a bit strained. "I mean, perfect! If we do that, the two worlds'll stop competing for each other's mana…I'm really…looking forward to it." The Chosen of Mana shuddered, muttering something that sounded like complaints about "hunnies" being "so cold".

The Summon Spirits, like most of their traveling party, simply ignored him and decided to answer Genis' question instead. "At the least, the mana connecting the worlds will disappear and the two worlds will separate." With that having been said, the pair of spirits disappeared in a flash of bright light.

"...We owe the separation to you, Sheena…" Presea stated, drawing everyone's attention towards her. While it was true she had received a Key Crest for her Exsphere, the young girl still spoke with a slight monotone. Although her expression, which used to remain the same no matter what, showed her gratitude and happiness. "And Corrine as well." As they all gathered together to depart from the temple, Sheena wondered why the pink-haired axe-wielder was thanking her. "It's because you both risked your lives to form the pack with Volt that we now know what the seals do." Presea took the few steps she needed to stand beside the summoner to gaze down at the bell Corrine used to have around his neck. Having been created by humans and half-elves as somewhat of a Summon Spirit, he had disappeared in a soft light moments before the battle had begun, and reverted back to mana. "So we thank you."

They traversed to the entrance of the temple where they met up with a Mizuhoan dressed in blue, who most remembered was named Orochi. Looking between him and Sheena, Lloyd wondered if there was anyone from their village who wore colors that wouldn't stick out in normal places. After all, he could understand if Orochi was going to be working by the sea, but in the desert or a town? Not a chance. He'd be too easily spotted, but- "Ow!" The brunette teenager covered his head with his hands.

"Lloyd, where are we going to be going to find the Rheairds?" Raine wondered, having been the one to have forcefully knocked the boy from his musings.

Chocolate brown eyes looked up at his professor, then around at the rest of his companions in hopes they'd help. "Uhh…..somewhere north of here?"

Both Sage siblings sighed. "No, Orochi has informed us that they are under the sea that is southeast from where we currently are. He's going ahead to make some preparations, but it's suspected to be the Renegade's base."

"Whoa, whoa whoa. Isn't it gonna be cold over there?" Zelos wondered. "Southeast of here's near Flanoir." His words earned a few confused looks from the Sylvaranti of their group. "Uh...icey, snowy, really cold...great to cud-ow! Not the face!"

"Then shut up, you stupid Chosen!" Sheena shouted angrily, clearly knowing where the redhead was going with his description.

Regal stepped forward. "We should depart for the sea as soon as we can, for we should not waste time until the Chosen of Regeneration is safe." Presea nodded in agreement, though remained silent. With that said, she, Genis, Raine, Regal, and Lloyd began to leave, the pair of arguing companions at the temple entrance with Orochi. The two realized this sooner or later, and started off after them at a quick pace.

"Sheena!" Orochi called, causing the purple-clad ninja to pause and turn to face him. "I wanted to congratulate you on making a pact with Volt."

"Ah...Thank you."

* * *

Yup, done with the Lightning Temple and the journey continues!


	29. Angel? Really? Yes!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own, mm'kay?

* * *

Chapter 28

"Zelos, are you sure you know how to-" Genis began, only to get thrown to the side, right into Regal, as the Chosen of Mana made an incredibly sharp turn. The young boy apologized, glaring at the redhead's back. His sister sighed, stepping up to aide the Chosen in the right direction as well as tell him to either slow down or deal with the retribution. Needless to say Zelos slowed down to a more normal speed.

While they watched their four companions, Presea and Sheena resolved to keep to themselves. "Orochi mentioned it'd be fairly easy to find, right?" The Mizuhoan asked. "So what's taking that stupid Chosen so long to get us there?"

"Zelos...is lost."

At Presea's statement the rest of them turned all eyes onto the redheaded Chosen of Mana. "What?" Sheena demanded, a hand moving as if it wanted to slap the male on the back of his head but didn't since he was still driving. "Are you really lost?"

With a relaxed chuckle, Zelos maneuvered the modified EC around a tall dark group of rocks, a glowing blue light shining slightly behind them. Docking it, the redhead glanced momentarily towards his companions before starting off towards what looked like Orochi and a Renegade.

As he approached, the unofficial leader started to ask if the man beside the Mizuhoan was indeed a Renegade, but soon got an explanation: "Relax, Lloyd, he's one of our people who have infiltrated the Renegades. This is the easiest way to investigate the declining world." He gestured to the travelers. "Please, follow me."

Sheena and Orochi led the way in, making their way down the hallway and over to a room off to their right.

"What happened to Zelos?"

They all turned to look at Presea in surprise. "Huh? Oh, I guess you're right. He's gone."

Not even a moment later, said redhead appeared by Lloyd's side, grinning like he usually did. "Ah, I'm sorry to keep my wonderful hunnies waiting," his gaze fell upon the females as he spoke. "Were you lonely without me?"

"What were you doing?" Regal wondered, his tone normally calm. "Everyone was worried about you." At his statement a certain dark-haired ninja muttered something about "not everyone" missing the male Chosen.

Zelos shrugged. "I was just taking a quick look around the area. We wouldn't want to walk right into a trap, would we?"

With a soft sigh, Orochi told them he'd give them a brief explanation of the infiltration procedure since their entire group was finally present. According to his sources, they needed a pass code in order to get to the hanger in which the rheairds were stored.

* * *

Footsteps sounded as Lloyd and his friends finally reached the door to the hanger, having searched practically the entire place for it. Upon stopping before the doorway, a certain redhead sighed. "Man, you'd think Orochi and his pals could've at least given us a hint as to what the pass code was."

"Shut up, Zelos," Sheena snapped, not even bothering to look his way as Raine stepped forward to look over the lock.

The group was silent for what seemed like hours until the elder Sage sibling turned around happily. "It would seem we need a trio of phrases, each part entered into the correct spot on this pad on the wall, to form a sentence. Luckily, the creator clearly isn't as intelligent as he'd like to make himself seem to be. We have been given three choices for each phrase, but I suspect it won't be as easy as simply guessing as much as we like."

Regal's eyes narrowed slightly in comprehension. "I see. So it's likely we only have three tries before an alarm goes off." Raine nodded. "What are the choices for the first third of the code?"

Light blue eyes turned back to the key pad. " They are 'the power of', 'the light of', and 'the life of'."

"Well, let's just assume it's 'the life of' for now," Zelos commented off-handedly. "It's not like we're gonna get anywhere without randomly choosing one."

With a sigh, the white mage entered in the Chosen of Mana's suggestion. "Then I suppose if we're going to go with life, then only the option of 'mana is' fits for the second part."

Genis grinned proudly at his sister's logic. "Then how about 'the radiance of life' for the last third?" Zelos scoffed to himself, a muttered "yeah, sure, kid", causing the young mage to spin around to glare at him. "What, do you think I'm wrong?"

While doing his best to keep from smirking, the redhead waved his hand in circles between them. "Oh, not at all, brat," he responded, a small smile playing on his lips as he looked to Raine. "Go ahead, my cool beauty. We'll never know if it's right just standing here looking at it."

They all gave the Chosen of Mana an odd look for a moment before Raine entered in the final part of the pass code. It beeped twice, and then stopped. "It says the code is invalid."

At that a pair of light blue eyes widened while ones with a bit more green to them hid slightly behind a pair of eyelids. "But didn't it only say that to the last bit?" Zelos glanced to where Genis stood beside Lloyd. "Looks like you were wrong, twerp."

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of a gloved hand making contact with someone's forehead and all eyes turned towards the source. "What is it, Lloyd?" Presea wondered, voicing the question all of them wanted to ask but didn't.

The brunette looked as though he had previously been staring intently at the key pad's options before his action. "It's the other two choices for the last part. They're 'the foundation of the world' and 'the whispering of the tree', right?" He received a nod in response from most of his friends. "So if we assume the two beeps mean the first two parts are right, then since we have two more chances we'll be fine if there's only three options for the last bit."

". . . What is your suggestion then?"

Lloyd turned to look directly at Regal. "If 'the radiance of life' isn't right, then I think we should try 'the foundation of the world' next."

Everyone stared in shock. Lloyd was actually making a suggestion? That made sense, no less? The redhead chuckled to himself. "It seems the worlds are ending, Bud, you're actually thinking coherently."

The teen glared at his fellow swordsman. "Just enter in my idea, and if it doesn't work we're no worse off, right?"

"That's assuming you're right about the beeps there, Bu-hey! What're you doing listening to-?"

Since, as usual, most of the party ignored Zelos' words, Raine and Sheena had entered in Lloyd's suggested phrase. They waited silently, listening for the beeps that would signal the opening of the door.

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

A soft click sounded, a message slowly showing up onto the screen of the pad. "Alright, let's go."

Upon entering, Lloyd and his companions saw the rheairds floating before them, but just as they were about to escape on them, the door slid shut; an echo resounding within the room. "So you've come, like moths to the flame!"

They half of their group turned towards the voice, Yuan coming into their view, while the others faced Botta who stood on the opposite side of the room. With a flat look, the one clad in red stared at the blue-haired half-elf. "Do you ever say anything original?"

Zelos chuckled. "You gotta admit," he began. "that line is seriously clichéd."

Dark blue eyes narrowed. "It's not cliche if-" He stopped himself, taking a small step back in hesitation with a short shake of his head. "I see your attitudes haven't changed at all." Yuan glared, raising his weapon as he got into a fighting stance. "But your impudence ends here! Prepare to die!" With that, he and his subordinate begun to attack with an onslaught of techniques.

Lloyd, Zelos, and Sheena ran towards Yuan while Presea and Regal took on Botta, leaving the Sages out of the direct fighting in order to efficiently cast their spells. Although soon, both Regal and Sheena got knocked unconscious which gave both the Renegades more time for their own casting.

"Stalagmite!" Botta called out, his attack making direct contact with the young black mage, successfully taking the boy out of the fight as well.

All of a sudden, in a flash of bright light, Botta along with Sheena and Zelos collapsed to the ground. Burn marks covered the Mizuhoan's skin while the Chosen's clothes were in tatters. Botta, however, looked to be more scorched by light than fire. This left Raine and Lloyd to face off against the blue-haired half-elf, the males eyes meeting temporarily before Yuan launched himself towards the teen in hopes of taking him out of the fight as well. Although he's promptly blocked by both of Lloyd's blades as he caught the swallow and swung down, causing all three weapons to make contact with the ground instead of either of them.

Blue eyes narrowed as Yuan decided to spin around the boy blocking his path and interrupt Raine's incantation, only to get knocked down by a Beast from Lloyd. The Renegade leader slowly got to his knees, a hand protectively covering his right side just below his ribs. "This is impossible! How could I lose…?" He muttered in disbelief, Botta finally recovering enough to rush to his superior's side. Raising his head, Yuan met Lloyd's gaze. "To think...you're Exsphere is really evolving…"

The boy was about to respond when ground began to shake. Taking the opportunity provided, Lloyd and his friends dashed over to the rheairds and took off. "Sir, this earthquake, could a mana link have been-?"

"It's possible. I want the cause of this earthquake investigated immediately."

Botta offers a hand to help the other get to his feet and remain stable, quite concerned for the fact the bluenette had a hand pressed against his side. "But, Sir, what about the rheairds?"

Yuan gave a half shrug, "Let them go. Our little friend can tell us where they are at any time."

* * *

Light blue eyes narrowed as their owner gazed down at a small screen in which he could see the Chosen of Regeneration being held within a glowing yellow sphere of light. Moments later, Lloyd and his friends came into view. The Chosen seemed to have told them to leave her, judging by the brunette's shaking head. He scoffed, "foolish sentimental humans."

Suddenly, a half-elven man appeared between the travelers and their trapped companion, causing everyone to react surprised in some way, shape, or form; including the one watching the events unfold. "Rodyle…." the blond muttered angrily. "What does he think he's doing?" He turned away, a knock on the door catching the angel's attention. "Come in."

Moments after the door opens, a certain auburn-haired Seraphim walked steadily into the room, the door closing behind him. "You wished to see me, Lord Yggdrasill?"

The blond nodded, a small smile playing about his lips. "Yes, Kratos. I wanted to talk to you about your next orders."

Kratos' visible eyebrow rose slightly. "Next orders?" He repeated, sounding only the slightest bit confused. "I have yet to complete the last set you-"

"Silence," Yggdrasill commanded. "I want you to contact our friend and see how his mission is coming. He hasn't contacted me in a while and I want to make sure he stays on track." He received an understanding nod in response before the Seraphim turned to leave. "Oh, and Kratos." Said swordsman turned back to meet the young boy's gaze. "Don't worry about your son, he's fine for now." However soothing he meant those words to be, Kratos took them the exact opposite way. Once he was alone once again, Yggdrasill turned back to watch the group as they fought against a winged dragon and it's pair of young, one of the baby dragons already down for the count. He looked around at them all, one at a time, trying to put names to faces and remember them. Genis and Raine Sage, half-elven siblings from Sylvarant. Presea Combatir, young Tethe'allan craftsman and woodworker who's one of the successful hosts involved in the Angelus Project. Colette Brunel, the Chosen from Sylvarant and current Chosen of Regeneration. Sheena Fujibayashi, summoner and failed assassin from Mizuho. Duke Regal Bryant, President of the Lezerano Company and former convict for the crime of murder. Zelos Wilder, Chosen of Mana and known womanizer. Lloyd Irving- that thought caused the blond to pause for a moment and scoff. Irving? He sighed. "I suppose I'll have to play along with that for now." Lloyd Irving, human from Sylvarant who seems to be bent on getting in the way: son of Kratos.

* * *

"No, it's too late!" Colette cried out as the light beneath her prison began to spread out in all directions.

In what seemed to be an act of trying to figure out the unknown, the question of "what is this ominous light that threatens to engulf us?" was asked by none other than Regal.

"It's Colette! The mana from Colette's body is flowing out towards us!" Genis explained, clearly not listening to the entirety of the former convict's words. "But, why can't we move?"

Lloyd instantly looks directly at the trapped blond. "Colette! You've gotta get out of there!"

The Chosen of Regeneration's gaze fell to the floor, a foot shuffling as best it can while connected to the ground be means of metal chains. "I can't…I'm chained to it. I'm sorry, I…I can't move. I'm really sorry." As she spoke, Colette's tone steadily became more and more somber and even a little self-hate began to mix into it as well. "I'm just a Chosen who couldn't even save her friends, much less the world. Maybe I'm just like Rodyle said, 'a pathetic Chosen'. I can't do anything…"

"No, Colette, don't delude yourself." Presea responded evenly. "You haven't done anything wrong. What's wrong is this system that demands the sacrifice of the Chosen..." She slowly made her way closer to the barrier, struggling to raise her ax and bring it crashing down atop the translucent wall. Upon contact, a surge of energy flowed back through the young girl's weapon and into her, causing her to cringe in pain and drop to the ground in seconds. At the same time Colette's prison broke down and disappeared into nothingness.

All of a sudden, the entire floating island began to shake. "Whoa, what the hell's with the ground?"

"Forget about that, Zelos, we've gotta get out of here!"

"Lloyd, I-" Colette started, still slightly hesitant to get onto a rheaird.

Said brunette turned to her with a confidant grin. "You have to live." To which she nodded and proceeded to follow him over to one of their red rheairds.

The group of traveling misfits immediately take off, the island soon crumbing to bits and falling into the sea below. Leading the way to the closest piece of land were Regal and Raine, each piloting their own rheaird, along with Presea and Genis as two of their seven rheairds had been damaged upon finding where Colette had been taken. Upon landing, Raine immediately stores the rheairds into their wing pack as soon as her companions get off of them. Her blue eyes shift from the pack to each of those around her, her expression clearly concerned. "Is everyone alright?" They all nodded in response, the red-haired Chosen sounding as melodramatic as usual.

"I'm glad no one is harmed, but why did this Rodyle kidnap the Chosen of Regeneration?" Regal wondered, having either forgotten that Colette had asked not to call her by her title or didn't think using such a casual name at the time was appropriate. Silly convicts, fancy things are for nobles.

But, nevertheless, Colette answered in her usual polite way and didn't bring up her previous request. "He said he needed a Cruxis Crystal in order to control the Mana Cannon," she explained, a hand slowly rising towards the crystal near her neck. "...but apparently, mine didn't work."

Lloyd titled his head to the side, obviously confused. "Wha? Mana Cannon?"

"If you recall, Pietro also spoke of something called the 'Mana Cannon'."

Just then, as Raine finished what she was saying, Genis tugged lightly on his sister's sleeve. "Hey, Sis, Presea's up." Despite his news, the young mage wasn't excited at all. His eyes were shining with happiness and you'd have to have been blind to not have noticed the grin upon his face. So, no, he wasn't the slightest bit excited that Presea was finally awake. **Not. At. All.**

He and Colette hurried over to the pink-haired girl's side. "Colette…" Ice blue eyes looked up at the blond in concern, not for her own welfare but Colette's. "...are you okay?" A single 'yes' in return sends a rush of happiness from one female to the other. Presea then smiled. "I'm glad."

Her expression results in multiple reactions. Most were simply happy to finally see Presea express some sort of emotion, while Regal brought his hands up to speculate pensively. "...She resembles her, just as I thought."

"Oh? Resembles who, pops?" The blue-haired male turned his gaze towards the Chosen if Mana for a moment before deciding to ignore his question entirely. With a shrug, Zelos looked around at his companions. "I'd say now's a good time we think about the next step. Where to next?"

Sheena glanced around the area for a few quick moments. "Well, judging by where we are, I'd say Gnome should be next. His temple should be just North of here."

With that they all set off, Sheena's navigation skills eventually taking them to the entrance of a fairly lit cave. "Hey, guys, don't you think we should, oh I dunno, rest a bit?" Most of the group completely ignored Zelos, but both Presea and Lloyd paused to look back at the redhead with questioning looks. "Well, our darling angel just got back from who knows what kind of adventure with that creepy Rodyle guy and the little rosebud only just woke up from fainting. Don't you think we could slow things down a bit?"

Figuring it should be up to Colette and Presea, Lloyd dashed up to Raine and Sheena's side. "Hey, maybe Zelos' right. Wouldn't it be better if we stopped and regrouped a bit before facing Gnome?"

Silence fell over the eight of them as the rest of the group considered the idea. "I suppose it would be a good idea," Raine conceded, gaze shifting to the one who had suggested it. "I have been wanting to speak with you privately for a while." She strode towards Zelos, stopping a two feet in front of him, her face devoid of any clues as to what she was thinking. The redhead shrugged, nonverbally accepting her offer, then turned and walked casually into the forest to wait. "As always, Regal, I expect the minors to be asleep by ten." After receiving an affirming nod, she too turned and strode into the woods to have a talk with Zelos.

* * *

"So, my gorgeous beauty, what is it you wanna talk about?" The Chosen of Mana was currently leaning his shoulder against the trunk of a tree, arms crossed lazily across his chest, clearly at ease. "Perhaps it's my unrivaled brilliant ideas, my sense of proper actions in dire situations, my amazing-"

"Casting abilities."

Blue orbs widened for a moment before relaxing again, a hand coming up to brush a stray strand of red hair back behind a rounded ear. "Whatever do you mean?" He smirked. "Surely you've noticed that you and the midget can cast far more advanced spells than I'm capable of. What makes you think that I'm possibly-"

Raine took a step closer, the hand that held her staff tightening its' grip as she moved. "Right before we defeated Volt, I saw a member of our party cast one of the spells I've only read about being performed. Do you happen to know any spell that binds its target in chains of light?"

"Well, there's that one darling Colette uses, right?" Zelos replied, still seeming not to know what she was talking about. "Oh, but those are feathers, not chains. Hmm . . . Ohhhhh…" All of a sudden, it apparently dawns on him. "You mean when I cast Shining Bind?" A nod. "Well, that's one of the techniques a special guy like the Chosen of Tethe'alla learns. You know how I can cast spells like First Aid and Eruption, right? Well, Shining Bind's just another of the ones I learned way back when. If I remember correctly, my teacher mentioned something about being unsure wether or not to show it to me, but in the end he did." The Chosen rose his gaze to stare directly at Raine's eyes. "That's all I know of it, honest."

She speculated for a moment, processing all the information she just received and that of which she had read. "So you were unaware such a technique is considered to be one that only angels can perform?"

Zelos stepped back slightly, shifting his weight off the tree as his eyes noticeably widened in surprise. "Really?" A grin made its way onto his face. "Whoa, check me out! The Great Zelos Wilder can use angel spells!" He paused for a second, appearing to think. "Wait, does this mean I could ask my precious little angel to teach me Angel Feathers and Judgement?" The entire time his expression continued to get even more excited as he let his true emotions show through for once. "Yes!" A fist shot into the air along with the shout. He then came down from his excited high and wrapped both arms around Raine. "Thank you so much for mentioning that. I thought it was just a really awesome spell, but I guess having someone way more intelligent than you on your side helps, huh?"

Raine simply stood in shock as the young adult spouted off his happy gibberish, eyes widening at the reaction she got from merely telling him one of his spells was an angel technique. It still didn't explain to her how he could cast in the first place, but due to his enthusiasm she figured that could wait for another time. She detached herself from his grasp and turned, walking back to camp. "Zelos, don't ask Colette about that for now. Wait until she has rested and is at full strength, understand?" With nothing but an "okay, okay, I won't" to satisfy her, the half-elven white mage made her way through the trees and back to their friends.

Slowly, Zelos' grin disappeared and his head fell forwards in relief. "I can't believe she bought that crap."

"Neither can I."

Immediately the Chosen's spine straightened completely, head jerking up as he turned around to come face to face with one of the Four Seraphim. "Aw, man, can't you greet people like a normal person? You almost scared me half to death thinking Raine had come back." A hand rose and settled over his rapidly beating heart. "Goddess, Kratos, what the hell?"

"That's Lord Kratos, to you, Chosen."

The younger of the swordsmen sighed lightly, the hand not over his heart raising just above his waist and began to draw circles in the air. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. What is it you want?"

"Lord Yggdrasill has informed me you haven't reported back in a while and would like to know what the cause of your delay is." Kratos' words clearly amused the redheaded human, for he began chuckling that soon turned into a slightly uncontrollable laugh, resulting in the angelic male raising an eyebrow. "Do you find something amusing?"

Zelos nodded, still trying to soften his laughter. "Sure do. Why's he sending you to deliver this message instead of some other angel?"

His elder simply stared emotionlessly for a moment. "I do not question Lord Yggdrasill's decisions, and neither should you. It would do well for you to remember who is planning on releasing you from your duties."

With a scoff, the redhead crossed his arms across his chest in a gesture to imitate the Seraph's posture. "Oh, you mean like you will once all this is over? You who will have nothing else to live for?" He smirked, seeing the small change in Kratos' expression to go from stoic to surprised. "Yeah, didn't think I knew that, did you? Even after this, all you're gonna be is Yggdrasill's little-"

"**Lord** Yggdrasill, Chosen," Kratos interrupted only to get ignored.

"Yggdrasill's little pet for the rest of your life. How's it make you feel to know people see your life as a joke, huh? Well, for me it's pretty self-satisfying, but I can be sure you can't say the same. You're worth anything to him because you're alive. He doesn't care if you're happy. Hell, I doubt he cares if anyone but his precious Martel is happy. All he-agh!" Zelos' rant got cut short by a fist ramming into his stomach, coming up slightly into the space between his arms and his body.

"That's enough." Now visibly angered, Kratos stepped back and recrossed his arms, slowly recovering from his outburst of emotion. "Report in more often and I won't have to come down here to remind you. And next time, I won't be as lenient." With that, he unfurled his wings and took off, leaving the Chosen alone.

A smirk slowly came to him as he oddly found a source of amusement in all of it. "Seems he taught the kid more than just swordsmanship."

* * *

The next morning, they packed up camp and set off into the cave only to see a few over-grown stalactites had reached floor level and were blocking their way. All of a sudden, the one with ADD noticed a very shiny piece of machinery off to the group's left and decided to go over to it. His friends wander over, most of the Tethe'allans mildly interested in the structure since there had been ones in Volt's temple as well. "Yo, Bud, what's the effect?"

The Sorcerer's Ring glowed for a moment before the ground beneath them started shaking slightly. "Another earthquake?" Genis wondered, only to be shot down by his sister.

"Highly unlikely. It's more possible the Sorcerer's Ring than anything else this time."

They proceed further into the temple, and after Lloyd uses the Sorcerer's Ring to get rid of the rocks in their way, eventually came to a bridge that connected their seeming solid ground to merely a path made out halved stalactites. "Be careful every-"

"Hey! You losers can't just barge in here!"

At the voice, everyone looks around for a moment before down at the small creature standing between the bridge and them.

"What's this thing?" Lloyd wondered, clearly having forgotten the conversation they had in the Toize Valley Mines about the Gnomelette they had met there.

The Gnomelette frowned. "Who you callin' a thing, huh?" It raised it's tiny hands in front of it, both of them in fists. "You wanna fight?"

. . . What? Each and every traveler was looking at the Gnomelette like it had gone just a bit too far off the deep end. Uh...yeah.

Regal then stepped forward. "We have business further on ahead. Would you be willing to allow us to pass?"

There was a brief pause and then a shrug from the Gnomelette. "Well, Big Brother came back and all. So, yeah, sure, go on."

Colette smiled. "Thank you very much!"

"Aww, you don't have to thank me, hunny," the Gnomelette replied. Wait, is that a smirk on that midget? Yup, that it is. "You're making me blush."

His words cause every intelligent member of the team look back at Zelos for a moment. "Hmm, that sounds like someone we know…"

Said redhead stepped back in surprise. "Wait, what? That's what I'm like?" He questioned, clearly confused as to what Genis was talking about. "What a shock…" And, as per usual, the rest of them ignored the Chosen of Mana and continued on deeper into the temple. "H-hey…isn't anyone going to say something?"

Presea paused and turned to face him. "Zelos. I think you and that small child are different."

"Oh, Presea!" The redhead grinned, stepping closer to give her a grateful hug. Being who she is, she allowed the contact with a completely neutral expression.

That is, up until the point Regal came back for them and saw it. "Presea, not all questions require a response," he explained. "In this case, ignoring Zelos is fine."

"...I see."

The Chosen scoffed. "Yeah, like you're one to talk...from experience, am I right?" He looked up, to find himself all alone on the bridge. "Aw, man! Again? You have got to be kidding me, not even a murderer would ignore someone this much…not unless they really hated them." The redhead grinned to himself, quickening his pace to catch up with the rest of them. When he finally did, they were in the middle of a conversation with yet another Gnomelette.

"What are you babbling about?" The little creature wondered, his tone clearly wanting to start a fight. "What're you here for?" Regal stepped forward once more and tried to explain that all they wanted was to go farther into the temple in hopes this Gnomelette would be nicer than his brother. "You want me to just let you all through for free?" He scoffed. "The world don't work that way, kid."

Everyone exchanged looks. Kid? Regal was the oldest in their group, so just how old were these little guys, anyway? Lloyd sighed, muttering loudly. "You and your brothers look and act **way** too much alike, you know that?" He looked directly down at the Gnomelette. "So, what is it you want?"

"What is 'spicy' like? Does 'spicy' taste good? Gimme something spicy to eat and I'll let all you losers by!"

Once again they glanced around at each other for a moment before Genis had an idea. "Does he mean he wants to eat something spicy? Like maybe curry or something?"

The Gnomelette hopped once in clear excitement. "Oh! Yeah! That's good!" He shouted, looking directly at the young mage. "Feed me that!"

Genis' eyes widened. "Me?"

"I'll gladly make some curry for him if you don't want to, Genis, I-"

The boy immediately shook his head. "N-no, that's okay, Raine. I'm sure Zelos would love to do it instead."

Everyone turned to look at the mentioned redhead. "Wha? Why me?"

"Yes, I'd like to see how the Chosen fares in the kitchen."

Zelos turned on Regal. "Wh-wh-what? Is this pay back for hugging Pre-?"

"Yeah, Zelos. You do it." Genis agreed, his voice lowering a bit after he spoke. "We do want him to survive after all…" Unfortunately for him, his sister heard what he said anyway and got a slap on the back of his head for voicing his opinion of her cooking.

The Chosen of Mana sighed, his expression sad for a moment before a grin spread across his face. "Fine, I will, midget. Then you'll get to see just what the Great Zelos Wilder's cooking skills can do." He then proceeded to stride over to the bag in which the cooking supplies were kept, took out the necessary ingredients for curry, and began his assignment.

While he did so, the rest of the group decided it a good idea for them to settle down for a little while and simply rest even though they hadn't really gotten that far into the temple of earth. For the most part they're all fairly quiet, although Lloyd kept glancing over at the redhead as he cooked. Said brunette leaned closer to his best friend, eyes shifting from Zelos to the young mage and back a few times. "Is it just me, or does he look like he's actually concentrating on something for once?"

"You mean other than flirting?" Genis replied evenly. "Yeah, I'd say so."

Every so often, the Gnomelette wandered over to Zelos' side to ask him a question; to which the Chosen of Mana shook his head. And after maybe the fifth time this occurred, the entire group got startled from their comfortable quiet. "I said, no, damnit! It's not done yet you stupid little runt! Now get outta my way and stop bugging me or it'll never be done and you won't get to try it!"

Unlike the rest of them, Presea didn't allow herself to be silenced by the redhead's disturbance. Instead, one might think she took his frustration as a sign to annoy him even more. "Zelos...are you angry?"

He spun around on his heel to glare at the pink-haired girl. "No! I'm not!" With a huff Zelos returned to his cooking while a certain half-elven boy shot daggers at his back. Although it was clear to see that his movements were fairly more stiff than before when he wasn't so worked up. "Man," he muttered, mainly to himself. "He asks me to cook and then the little munchkin has to go and annoy the hell outta me and…agh...there." Zelos reached down and snatched the handle of the pan and removed it from the grate over the fire. He turned and forced a grin upon his face. Zelos gave the little earthen annoyance a small portion, expression still obviously not showing his true feelings at the moment. "Here. Try it."

"Oh! So this is 'spicy'!" Just like the Gnomelette they had met in the Toize Valley Mines, this one took the entire thing and ate it all at once. Although the steam clearly showed the curry was really hot, the Gnomelette didn't show any sign of registering that fact. He hopped on the balls of his shoed toes a few times, continuing to repeat "spicy" over and over again as he left them alone.

Said actions confused them all, Lloyd's face showing his reaction to the Gnomelette the most out of them all...even Colette hid her's better. "I guess he doesn't understand what spicy is."

A pair of blue-green eyes widened slightly. "W-well, it's not like I put all that much effort into it or anything anyway, so-"

"You were dripping with sweat," Presea commented.

Regal nodded in agreement. "Yes, Zelos, you appeared to be quite serious about making it. What with the way you lost your tem-"

"Alright, alright!" Zelos conceded, a gloved hand waving around in circles, his tone getting closer to how it had been minutes ago.

What not many noticed was a certain brunette sneakily dishing himself out a bit of the curry and trying it. "Wow, Zelos, that's good," he complimented. "I wasn't sure at first, but now I'd think it's a waste to just let that Gnomelette have it."

Almost immediately he was on the receiving end of what could have been a tackle if the redhead hadn't purposely tried not to knock Lloyd over. As he did, a happy cry of "Bud!" resounded throughout the area...only to have objections soon follow it from the teen in red.

* * *

"I can't believe you actually pulled that off!" A certain blond's laughter met slightly pointed ears as the older of the pair steered a small, exsphere powered boat. His companion continued to chuckle to himself, still trying to figure out how they were able to acquire a way across the sea. Light green eyes stared at his best friend in amazement, a wide smile upon his face. "I should have known I was dealing with someone intelligent. After all, how many people of our status do you know could get both a ship and a wing pack?"

"Just be glad you they weren't as strict about the rules as you can be, Aster," Richter replied, dark gaze focused on maneuvering their little vessel in the direction of the iciest continent in Tethe'alla, dodging obstacles with surprising ease. "If they were they would have asked who we were, where we were going to go, why we were going there, and most likely for a blood sam-"

"Okay, okay. Really, Richter, do you have to be so serious? We're the farthest away from Sybak either of us have ever been. Why not take the chance to have a bit of fun?"

The redhead sighed, slowing down to carefully stop at the practically completely snow-covered dock. Richter followed his friend off the boat, putting it into their newly acquired wing pack once he too was on solid ground. "Well, which way to Flanoir?" His dark green gaze watched his friend closely as the blond tried to figure out where they were exactly on the continent.

It wasn't until the younger of the two finally decided to simply start off in the direction opposite the dock that they made much distance when compared to the time they spent on land. "If I have our location and information correct, we should be able to find Flanoir in the next few hours. After a quick rest, we'll be able to ask around to see if anyone knows where to find the Temple of Ice."

"I assume you mean to find out more about Glacies?"

* * *

Soon Lloyd and his friends reached yet another bridge, coming to see another Gnomelette stood in their way. "What do you want, losers? You wanna fight?" He asked.

Practically everyone's expression flattened at the little creature's words. "I can't believe they're so identical," the brunette commented.

"Maybe they're just messing with us to see if we'll turn back," Genis remarked, quite fed up with the Gnomelettes by now.

Sheena stepped forward, trying her best not to sound annoyed. "No, we don't have any business with you. Mind letting us across?"

The Gnomelette thought for a moment, then looked up directly at the ninja. "Chose one of your companions to stay behind or else none of you can pass." He seemed completely serious. So much that Sheena actually turned to look for a moment at each of her companions, clearly thinking of the decision she was about to make. Her dark gaze caught a pair of blue, who then subtly told her they wanted to stay if need be by glancing temporarily to the ground and then back up at her.

"...I guess, I'll have to ask you to stay behind then, Regal."

Her choice sent most of the younger travelers into an uproar. "What? Sheena, how can you say something like that?" The brunette demanded, his best friend agreeing whole-heartedly with him. "Regal's our friend! If he can't go with us, then what's the point in g-?"

"That's enough, Lloyd. Genis." As a pair of handcuffed palms rested atop red-clad shoulders, their owner's gaze lowered to lock with the young mage's. "If my staying here will aid in allowing Sheena to make the necessary pact with Gnome, then I shall gladly remain on this side of the bridge."

With that being said, the Gnomelette watched as Regal settled down atop a boulder to wait. He then moved aside as the rest went across the gap and further into the temple.

* * *

"Sir, our preparations are almost complete."

The blue-haired half-elven Renegade nodded in understanding. "Excellent. I trust you are certain those few you have chosen to come with me are going to be able to succeed in their task?" Yuan glanced over the final documentation for their current project, looking to Botta only when he was almost finished talking.

"Yes, Sir."

"And Kratos' location?" Not a minute after Yuan asked, the door behind Botta opened and a pair of Renegades stepped forward. One of which continued farther in than the brunette's side and handed their leader a single piece of paper. He looked it over, a small smirk showing slightly upon his lips. "So I see." The bluenette's gaze met his second in command's for a moment before he took his leave. "I'll take care of him. Just make sure your chosen few are ready when we arrive."

* * *

Light footfalls echoed throughout a pure white room, their owner's ice blue eyes gazing around emotionlessly. "To think, he still doesn't understand…" A young blond's voice muttered to himself, eyes falling on a set of shackles about three-quarters from the ground. "They're both in my way."

Suddenly a soft light flashed momentarily to his left. With a sigh, the blond disappeared from the room and soon reappeared in the room above it. He glanced towards the windows used to view the white room, a small frown upon his childish face. "Come in, Pronyma." Although when he spoke, it was with the authoritative tone befitting the leader of Cruxis.

"Lord Yggdrasill, are you sure your plan will succeed? The Chosen and his companions may be foolish, but-"

Yggdrasill spun quickly to glare at the woman before him. "Are you questioning my decisions?" She began to shake her head and reply verbally, but was cut off by the blond. "They are foolish, idiotic humans! As such, they will most definitely fall for my plan. Now get out of my sight if you're going to second guess me!" In a huff, the boy crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Pronyma turned to leave, clearly shocked at her leader's reaction, for she had never seen him so angry in her life. However, that didn't stop her from making one last remark before she exited. "You truly are his student, aren't you?"

Blue eyes widened. "Out!" The boy stared as the door closed behind her, leaving him alone in the room. Both his arms slowly uncrossed as his hands shakily rose to eye level. "I'm not…" Yggdrasill murmured, his voice wavering. "I'm nothing like him." Hands clenched into fists as he forced them both down to his sides, gaze shifting towards the white room. "...Nothing."

* * *

Upon their arrival at the seal, the area surrounding them suddenly began shaking. Then, a large mole-looking creature with a red bow atop its head appeared from below the earth and turned to face the diminished group of travelers. Sheena, Lloyd, Raine, Colette, and Genis stepped closer to the Summon Spirit with their summoner in the lead.

Who they assumed to be Gnome stared down at the five of them, seeming to mentally count their numbers before speaking. "...Weren't there more of you?" He looked at each of them individually before turning to look right at Sheena. "Hmm….so, you're a summoner, huh? Well, sorry, but I've already got a pact with Mithos, so you can just forget about asking."

Undeterred, the Mizuhoan stood her ground. "I am Sheena! I seek a pact with Gnome, the Summon Spirit of Earth. I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos, and establish a-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, waiiiiiiiit a second. What's with the stuffy language?" Gnome wondered, his tone more laid back than the rest of the Summon Spirits they had come across so far. "I mean it's not like the language you use'll make me more willing to make a pact with you, so would you mind keeping it simple?" He shook his head, muttering in slight disgust with the formality.

Sheena was stunned silent for a few moments, her gaze looking back at her friends with a slight "that was the way I was taught…" kind of expression and then back to Gnome. "Well, then… My name's Sheena. Would you mind forgetting about your pact with Mithos and make one with me?"

The red bow atop Gnome's head spun around a couple of times. "Now that's more like it, but whatever." He then appeared to shrug as best as a mole can, still not seeming to take anything seriously. "Well? Show me whatcha got. Bring it on!" He chuckled softly, simply floating where he was for only a few more seconds before charging the summoner.

She dodged, taking out her set of weapons and countered with a Pyre Seal. Seeing as Gnome focused mainly on her, Sheena made sure to try and keep the Summon Spirit's back to the rest of her friends. As soon as he saw an opening, Lloyd leapt up into the air and came down upon the mole-like being with a call of "Rising Falcon!"

All of a sudden, the ground shook beneath the Sage siblings' feet, distracting them from casting as well as knocking the younger of the pair off balance. Colette, having been suspended in mid-air due to her wings, soon finished her incantation and sent about a dozen or so shining pink feathers towards Gnome. Sheena and Lloyd then took the opportunity to attempt a combined attack, but were foiled when the Summon Spirit called forth stalagmites to spear the summoner up and into the air at the last possible second. Only the brunette's attack had a chance of making contact, successfully knocking Gnome to the ground. For a moment, no one moved, not even the rocks near either Sheena or Gnome. As she stood, a dark blue spell circle appeared beneath Genis' feet.

"Tidal Wave!" Water appeared seemingly out of nowhere and swept harmlessly around the young black mage and his companions, but washed Gnome back down just as he was about to stand.

In seconds, he disappeared and reappeared above the platform that he had originally spoken to the small group of travelers. "You guys fight dirty, you know that?" His words startled the five companions, each of their reactions quite similar except in Raine's case: her expression didn't change all that much whereas most of her friends' eyes widened. "I mean, really, what's with this four-on-one garbage? Ya know Mithos? Well, he did it all by himself." Dark eyes looked at each of them for a few moments before Gnome shrugged. "But, yeah, whatever. Make your vow already, would ya?"

"Ah, this guy's hard to deal with," Sheena muttered, slightly disgruntled towards the Summon Spirit. She stepped forward and gazed up at Gnome. "Um...For the sake of creating a place in which the two words don't have to sacrifice one another, gimme your power!"

For what seemed like the thousandth time, he gave a mole's version of a shrug, the bow atop his head whirling around a few times as he remained silent for a bit. "Well, okay. I'll lend my power to you guys, even if you have a sneaky way of fighting."

With that, the small group of travelers made their way back towards the entrance of the temple. Since they had lost a few of their members along the way, the five of them traveled quicker and more smoothly than they had getting to Gnome. The first of their companions that they found was none other than Presea. She was sitting patiently beside a small pile of rocks, each one cleaved in half. Upon hearing their footsteps, the young pink-haired girl stood.

"I assume you were successful, Sheena?" The summoner nodded happily in response as blue eyes gazed around at her friends. "Then where shall we go next?"

"Well, first we've gotta get Zelos and Regal back," the dual swordsman replied. "Then I guess we'll go from there."

They continued on and soon had to pass through a small, poorly lit tunnel. Having been through it once before and seen there were not monsters to be wary of within, none of the party thought it would be necessary for them to light up their path. However, their decision to do so turned out to have a slightly different result than what they thought it would.

"Ah!" Lloyd called out, having tripped over some sort of rock. He landed face first in the dirt, raising his head a bit off the ground to shake it back and forth a few times. "What was that?"

A soft rustling sounded from where the brunette had fallen, shortly followed my a low murmur of "oh, there you are hunny...you cam back to me…"

There was a collective sigh as Genis summon up a small Fireball to light up the tunnel. Sheena strode forward and kicked the redhead awake. "You can be a real pervert, you know that?"

Zelos sat up immediately, eyes widening when he saw Sheena glaring down at him. "Whoa, you're back so soon? But I was just getting to the good part of my dre-"

"Shut up and let's go."

The Chosen of Mana frowned, getting to his feet and slowly following after the angry summoner. He tried his best to stay beside Lloyd, for he knew she was slightly less violent towards the younger male. "The old man's still on the other side of that bridge, right?"

"Yeah. As soon as we get over there and then out of here, we'll decide as a group where to go next."

It wasn't too long before they had reached the bridge, all eyes noticing a certain blue-haired convict waiting for them to return on the other side. The younger ones, all but Presea anyway, rushed forward to reunite with Regal while those over the age of eighteen did not. Since Sheena had made a pact with Gnome, most of the monsters within the temple seemed to stay clear of the group as they made their way to the exit. Once the misfits finally saw the light of day again, even if the sun was currently setting, Raine suggested they set up camp and continue on the day after. So, after the fire had been burning for a good ten minutes or so and all of the necessary items were laid out for sleeping, the group of travelers gathered around the fire to talk.

"Alright, since we've made a pact with…" Lloyd's eyes scrunched together in thought as his voice faded into silence.

"Three."

"Three Summon Spirits," he continued, smiling gratefully towards Colette. "Where to next?"

Blue eyes shifted to look up from the fire. "I've heard that the Summon Spirit known as Celsius resides near Flanoir," Regal offered. "Perhaps that would be a good place to go next?"

Raine looked around at each of her companions, her gaze lingering on Zelos longer than the rest, for she still didn't completely believe he hadn't known much about his abilities. "I would think that's the best lead we have at the moment. All in favor of traveling to this place called Flanoir, raise your hand." Almost immediately the following people's hands shot straight into the air: Lloyd, Genis, Colette, Zelos, Sheena, and Regal...well, both hand rose in Regal's case. "Do you have something to say about this course of action, Presea?" The half-elven teacher wondered.

With a small nod, Presea directed her gaze at Raine. "From what I have heard, Flanoir is quite cold. How are we going to last the needed time span in order to locate and make a pact with Celsius if we're all frozen solid?"

"I'm sure there's a place we can get warmer clothes in Flanoir, my darling rosebud. All we'd have to do is ride the rheairds as close to the city as we can and then go from there."

"I...see." The pink-haired girl slowly rose her right hand. "Then I agree that this is the best course for us to take if we wish to make a pact with all the Summon Spirits."

* * *

Say, anyone think they may know what's about to come in the next chapter? Anyone? ^_^


	30. Pick a Temperature Already!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything even remotely related to Tales of Symphonia (either game). If I did, there would be more information on Aster . . . AND KRATOS WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO LEAVE! _

. . . anyway, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 29

Soft laughter sounded throughout the small hotel room as both temporary inhabitants settled in for the night. The time spent out of Sybak had both shown them the reality of the world around them, but it also helped their friendship grow and strengthen to the point where even Richter was relaxed. One of which, however, didn't think their current situation was all that amusing. He stood with his arms crossed across his chest, a light dusting of pink upon his cheeks. "It is not funny, Richter."

Still chuckling slightly as he laid down, the redhead's gaze flickered over to his best friend. "Maybe not to you but to anyone else, except the innkeeper as well I suppose, yes it was."

Aster glared down at the half-elf. "Do you know how embarrassing that was? For both him and me? You're laughing now, but you can't possibly tell me you thought that you thought his mistake was funny at the time. I saw that look of hesitation on your face when he addressed me as 'miss' before responding. That poor man looked so embarrassed when you mentioned I was male...I felt so bad for him." Despite his words, the redhead continued to chuckle at his best friend's misery. With a sigh, Aster settled down on his own bed. "It was fortunate the people of Flanoir don't hold the caste system as highly as they do in other cities, right Richter? ...Richter?" Light green eyes glanced over at his roommate, noticing the gentle rise and fall of the older researcher's shoulder. As a small smile graced the human's lips, the blond closed his eyes in hopes of reaching dreamland soon as well.

* * *

"Ugh, I can't believe I let you guys talk me into this," Zelos muttered as he led the way into The Snowy City of Flanoir, arms wrapped around him in an attempt to keep warm. However, his usual pink overcoat was currently aiding to keep the group's summoner from catching frostbite, so all he had was a sleeveless black shirt to cover his torso. Before he could say a word, the rest of his party dashed into the warm inn, leaving him to follow in the back.

When he caught up with the first few who had entered, they had already asked the inn keeper where they'd be able to find some warmer clothes. "I won't lie and say they're cheap, but the shops's just across the way from here. All you have to do is exit and head straight until you run into a little building. If I remember correctly you should have to go down a few steps, but it shouldn't be all that difficult to find."

"Thank you, sir."

With that, the eight of them left the inn and back out into the cold weather the town was famous for. Once more, a certain redhead started to mumble and complain...and was once again ignored by practically the rest of his group. The only one who didn't completely allow everything he said to pass by their ears was Colette, being the kind of person she is.

They were almost to the point the inn keeper had said, but Lloyd was soon sidetracked by a man who was standing a few feet away from the entrance of the shop. "Excuse me, young fellow, do you happen to have any Celsius' Tear?"

The teenage brunette's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, his head tilting to the side slightly. "Cell see us? . . .Oh! You mean like Celsius, the Summon Spirit!" He thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Sorry, I've never heard of it. What is it?"

He smiled slightly in realization that he had found someone who may actually help him due to the fact he didn't live in Flanoir. "Celsius' Tear is a famous ice flower in here. It's said to have the power to freeze anything, but I've never met someone who's been able to use it. Not many have been able to gather the necessary items to get their hands on it."

"Really? Why not?"

"If you touch it with bare hands, you'll get badly burned," the man explained, dark eyes lighting up slightly. "Although if you have some gloves made from Penguinist quills, then you'll be fine. Oh, and if you find any, I'm willing to pay whatever you ask in exchange for it."

Nodding, Lloyd opened his mouth to reply but a gloved hand took a hold of his sleeve and dragged the teenager back up the stairs; a heavy black coat falling atop his head in the process. "Come on, Bud, we're going to the next temple. So hurry up and secure that stuff on before we get outta town."

With a sigh, the oldest pair of the group led the way back through Flanoir and started out East.

* * *

As they neared a few higher mounds of snow, Raine commented that they should be getting closer to their destination. Moments later, the travelers came upon a cave, the snow slowly dispersing to show frozen rocks. "Wow, Raine, look at that!" The silver-haired mage's shout, while it did it's job and pointed out another machine for the Sorcerer's Ring, attracted a few monsters as well. Zelos, Lloyd, Regal, and Sheena dashed forward to prevent the fenrir and pair of penguinists from reaching the party's casters. While they steadily weakened the trio of monsters, a faint red spell circle could be seen slowly darkening as Genis prepared a spell. "Burn," he stated moments before a circle of fire blazed around the penguinists. "Eruption!"

Soon they were on their way towards the machine, taking the ring and receiving the power to freeze practically anything they could see. While not many were excited about the idea, given their current states, Lloyd grinned like a fool as he always did when something new happened.

The band of travelers were just crossing a bridge when a shout of "watch it!" echoed from farther in. "Mortal Summer!"

Most of their group paused for a moment at the voice, all but Regal recognizing it. "Isn't that Richter?" Sheena wondered, her tone showing she was clearly confused.

"But he's a half-elf," Genis objected. "Aren't there laws preventing him from leaving Sybak?"

With a chuckle, the Chosen of Mana began to continue on. "Well, we see when we get there, right? So why worry 'bout it now?" Seeing the rare logic in his statement, his companions followed the redhead's lead across the bridge and through a short tunnel.

When they could finally see again, they saw quite a rare sight. Dressed only in their usual clothing were Aster and Richter, currently fighting a pair of fenrir. Although it was clear by the ground there had been at least a few other monsters initially. As the redhead took on the overgrown wolf directly, Aster spun around his opponent constantly; as were the natures of their fighting styles. The larger group of travelers watched, some in amazement that researchers they knew lived in one place for practically their entire lives could defend themselves. The fact that one of the pair would pass something between them occasionally seemed to be missed by a select few of the misfits. With a final call of "Havoc Strike", the blond took down the last monster, a smile barely being able to be seen from the distance.

Blue eyes glanced around at his friends for a moment before their owner took off at a run towards the pair from Sybak. "Genis!" Raine called out. "Be carful or you'll-" Before she could finish, her little brother tripped and fell face first onto the cold hard ground. She sighed, striding towards them; the rest of her companions following shortly after her, Regal the most curious to meet the pair of researchers since it was clear to him the rest of them knew them both.

Hurriedly sheathing his blade, Aster knelt beside the younger male. "Are you alright, Genis?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The half-elven mage laughed softly at himself. "I'm kinda clumsy when it comes to physical activities." Although he was used to it, he accepted the bare hand offered to him. "Thanks."

"What are you doing here?" Despite his words, Richter's tone gave no hint of anger at the sight of familiar faces. Considering past events, he had no reason not to trust most of them. . .though the Chosen of Mana was still one of the ones he didn't want to have to rely on.

Stepping forward slightly, Raine met his dark green gaze with her own. "We were just about to ask you the same question. A place like this doesn't seem the type to attract the attention of a simple pair of researchers like yourselves."

Lime eyes lit up in excitement. "We're here to see if we can gather more information on what are known as Centurions. Specifically, Glacies, the Centurion of Ice."

"Glacies?"

"But that's just crazy, those things don't actually exist…" Zelos looked around at his companions. "Right?"

With a scoff, Richter turned to continue on father into the cavern. "If that's what you believe, then I won't waste my time trying to convince you. Come on, Aster."

"W-wait! Please wait." Colette moved quickly in a sort of half skip half walk type movement to Richter's side and soon stood in front of him, her hands curled in front of her in ernest. "If you two are going to continue on no matter what, why not join us? I'm sure it'd be much warmer to be around more people, and…" Her voice faded slightly, gaze moving slowly towards the ground. Although when she continued the Chosen of Regeneration looked even more determined to get them to agree than before. "It'd be nice to get to know you both better."

The redhead didn't even have to look at his best friend to know that he'd agree, so Richter simply nodded in response. "If your companions are willing, we shall accompany you in further."

Genis grinned, jumping up and down for a few quick moments. "Well, then I guess welcome to the group, guys!"

"Wait just a moment," Regal stated, looking at each of them in turn. "How are you able to stand such cold?"

Aster chuckled, his smile widening upon being accepted. "I personally try not to think about it. But don't worry, we have our ways."

* * *

The preparations were almost complete. Everyone who needed to know knew what was happening, and even then that particular group of people was considerably smaller than normal. A young blond boy strode around the village, ice cold gaze looking at the multitude of humans who lived there in apparent peace. He scoffed quietly. Peace? When they were one of the towns who treat half-elves like some sort of fatal disease? Not to mention most of them have gone as far as to outcast anyone even slightly out of the ordinary. As he wandered down to the lone house at the base of a large vine, his gaze softened slightly. Rodyle had been fairly compliant before the current Chosen of Regeneration had arrived in Tethe'alla, but had been going against his orders as of late. He shook his head. "There's no time to think about that now," the blond murmured despite being a considerable distance to the inhabitants of Ozette. In a flash of light, the boy was gone.

Reappearing moments later within his room, Yggdrasill glanced around the empty space. He then strode over to what seemed to be a communicator of some sort. "Attention all Mithos angels. Prepare for departure."

* * *

Upon solving the puzzle within Celsius' cavern, the ever-growing group of travelers arrived within the seal chamber. Suddenly, the area began to shake as ice quickly made its way towards the seal. "You who possess the right of the pact. I am Celsius, one who is bound to Mithos, the hero." As she spoke, their newest companions expressions amused Zelos to no end. Aster's eyes widened in amazement that the redhead thought the boy was going to die of happiness. While Richter's reaction was less noticeable. While it was still one of silent shock and reverence once a humanoid being with light gray almost white skin appeared before them, her arms crossed across her chest as she gazed down at Sheena, he did a much better job at hiding it.

"I am Sheena. I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos, and establish a new pact with me."

Celsius smirked slightly, light blue eyes looking around at those accompanying the summoner before her. "You seek a pact with me? How amusing. I shall accept, but with one condition. You may choose only one of your human companions to fight with you. The rest, if any, must be at least part of another race."

Dark eyes widened just an inch or so at the Summon Spirit's words. However nervous her reaction may have seemed, she quickly made her decision. "Then I shall choose Lloyd Irving as my human companion, and Genis and Raine Sage shall join us."

"…" The Summon Spirit of Ice glanced at the pair of siblings for a moment, "Half-elves?" and then turned back towards Sheena, clearly amused at the Mizuhoan's decision. "Let's see if you can handle me."

With that, she summoned a creature that looked to the travelers to be your average wolf. . .only, you know, frozen. "Guys, be careful!" Aster called out, following the rest of their group as they stepped backwards and out of the way. "That Fenrir may look pretty easy, but it can-ah!" His advice got cut off abruptly by an icicle shooting out of the ground. The only way he hadn't been harmed was a hand pulling him back by his collar. Turning to face the one who had helped him, the blond researcher came face to face with Zelos. "Wh-why did you-?"

"Just 'cause I can't stand you doesn't mean I'm a cold bastard, alright?"

Nodding, they turned back to watch as Sheena and Lloyd combined a pair of techniques to take down the Fenrir; a call of "Dark Serpent!" echoing throughout the area. Moments later, a trio of sharp icicles made contact with the brunette's back, causing him to fall to the ground as Sheena darted towards Celsius, cards in her hands. The angrily determined look on her face was the exact reason Tethe'alla's Chosen described her as a demonic banshee.

Despite how she appeared, the humanoid was fairly efficient at close combat. Although as she was preoccupied with the summoner, Celsius didn't notice as Genis slowly but surely gathered as much mana as he could and put it towards his goal. "Reduce these evil souls to ashes," he murmured, feeling that he needed only a few more seconds until he was ready. Without so much as a glance in any other direction than directly at his intended target, the black mage smirked temporarily. "Explosion!"

Seconds after contact, Celsius seemed to disappear. "Excellent," her voice echoed. "It would appear that my freezing chill is nothing but a summer's breeze to you." She reappeared, suspended slightly above the seal. "Now, summoner, speak your vow. A vow worthy of my power."

With nothing but a nod, Sheena strode forward, only stopping once she reached the frozen base of the seal's steps. "For the sake of creating a place in which the two worlds no longer must sacrifice one another, I ask that thou grant me thy power!"

"Understood. Use my power well." Her gaze shifted towards her new pack-maker's fighting companions, an indistinguishable look upon her face. Although she appeared to want to say something to them, she refrained. Instead, she bid Sheena farewell and disappeared in a flash of light.

Silence fell upon them all as Sheena turned to smile happily at her friends. "Thanks guys, I couldn't have done that without your help."

"Oh, don't worry," Raine began, a small expression of relief upon her face. "It was our-"

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" The shout echoed seemingly endlessly throughout the seal chamber, all eyes turning in surprise towards the blond whom had spoken as he dashed to Sheena's side. "You were incredible, Sheena! Where did you learn summoning arts? How many pacts have you made so far? Are you the summoner some of my friends back at the lab were talking about? If so, is Corrine still with you? Can I talk to him? Is-ah! Chosen!"

With a glare, the redhead recrossed his arms having used one to slap the back of Aster's head moments before. "Either slow down or shut up, you're giving me a headache." Blue eyes stared down at the younger male, the blond's ignorance getting to him more than the noise.

The blond frowned slightly, light green eyes narrowing a bit. "I'm sorry for causing trouble, Chosen One, but I-" A hand took a hold of his sleeve, catching his attention.

"Aster, we're going."

"Ah, right."

* * *

Mithos stood before a group of about a dozen angels, all staring lifelessly towards their leader, as he went over their instructions one final time before his plan was put into action. "And remember, do not linger any longer than needed." With that, the boy raised a hand and gestured for them to take off towards their destination. After the last lifeless being left his presence, Mithos disappeared from the cliff face in a flash, reappearing in the center of Ozette. Already both the inn and weapons shop were burning brightly, the buildings around them soon following suit. With a chuckle to himself, Mithos calmly laid facedown amidst the steadily burning structures. His eyelids closed over an ice cold gaze as he drifted off into the closest thing to sleep someone like him could reach.

* * *

As they reached the exit to the temple of ice, both Genis and Raine continued to question the Tethe'allan researchers on how and why they wanted to find the Celsius Tear the travelers had used to their advantage. "We must thank you again," she continued. "On our way here, we didn't cross paths with any penguinists. So none of us were sure how we were going to ask for a pair of gloves if we found the Celsius Tear."

"In actuality, we weren't aware that such a thing actually existed. Since each of us have never set foot on this continent before, we-" Richter paused, a bright flash of light catching the attentions of each of the misfits.

As they watched, a lightning storm seemed to take place above a forest to the West. "Whoa, what's going on?

"That is…" Presea began, sights set in the smoke and flames that were so large they could be see from across the sea. "...the direction of Ozette."

Regal nodded, his expression showing his concern. "Yes...this feels quite ominous."

"We should check it out. Come on, Bud!"

"W-wait!" Aster almost shouted, causing all eyes to turn towards him. "Uh...I'd like to get there as much as everyone else, but how are we going to get there in time? Miss Colette's the only one with wings."

Chuckling, Zelos waltzed to Raine's side. "My cool beauty, if I may?" She handed over the wing pack with a sigh, watching as the redhead took out their rheairds. He turned to the blond to a startled expression upon his face to smirk at the researcher. "Unlike some poor unfortunate souls, we can fly."

"Shut up and get on, Zelos." Lloyd told him, already stepping up and boarding his red rheaird. With a glance back to make sure everyone was ready to go, the brunette looked in the direction of Ozette. "Alright, let's go!"

* * *

In the time it would have taken them to walk back to Flanoir from the temple of ice, the group of traveler's soon landed on the outskirts of Ozette. What met their eyes was something only Lloyd had seen months ago in another's memories: buildings crumbled while fires blazed all around the quaint town. No one moved an inch as the flames continued to consume Ozette. That is, until Colette noticed a young boy laying unconscious only a few feet away from what used to be the item shop. Worried, she rushed to his side. "Are you okay?" The Chosen of Regeneration wondered as Presea, Lloyd, and Aster made their way beside her. Receiving no response, her ocean gaze turned to her friends. "We've got to get him out of here." Nodding, Presea picked the boy up like he weighed less than a feather and carried him towards her house. The last of their group made it down to steady ground just moments before the large vine connecting the young girl's house and the rest of Ozette gave and collapsed to the ground with a resounding crash.

Presea laid the young blond gently on her bed, keeping watch to make sure he wouldn't accidentally fall off if he rolled over.

"Who is he, Presea? Do you know?"

The pink-haired girl shook her head slowly. "I can't say I've seen him before, but it's likely he's lived here for a while. Due to prior circumstances…"

"I-It's alright if you don't re-remember. Up until r-recently, y-you weren't yourself."

With a small smile, Presea looked from Genis to the boy before her. "Thank you for saying so."

Slowly, the young blond's eyelids began to twitch, his mouth curving down slightly. Suddenly he sat straight up, gaze looking around wildly until it landed on the silver-haired mage. "Wh-who are you people?" Somewhat pale blue eyes scanned the people surrounding him. "How did I get here?"

Raine strode forward and sat down beside the boy's feet. Almost immediately he pulled them closer to himself and away from her. "It's alright, we don't mean any harm." The young boy stared at her for a moment before slowly shifting his feet back to where they were. "What's your name?"

"Mi-Mithos," the blond boy replied nervously. "My name's Mithos."

Her gaze softening, Raine smiled. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Raine. . .Do you remember anything that happened before you awoke just now?"

Mithos nodded. "I'm not sure what exactly happened, but suddenly lightning fell from the sky, and angels attacked the village."

"Angels?"

"They had wings." Mithos decidedly looked only to Raine, clearly thinking he could only trust her for the time being. "Those with wings are angels…right?"

"I'm impressed you survived," the slightly sarcastic tone of Zelos' voice floated towards the boy from near the doorway. "Are you the only one left?"

Nodding, the young blond shifted his legs to the side of the bed and stood on his own two feet to face the redhead. "I lived by myself on the outskirts of the village. So when the angels attacked, I-"

"Are you a half-elf?"

Gaze darted towards the speaker as Mithos unconsciously took a few steps away from the rest of them. "I..I-I'm...no." He responded, head shaking as he spoke. "I'm not." Keeping his eye on Richter, Mithos' back soon made contact with the wall. "I'm not a half-elf."

"You can relax," the redhead replied evenly. "If you haven't noticed already due to nerves, we have the same blood flowing through our veins." He gestured towards Raine and Genis. "As do the Sages."

Eyes widening in surprise, Mithos seemed not to be able to speak for a good couple of minutes. "But you're with humans! How can you think I'll believe that you're friends with them? Humans treat our kind with nothing but hatred!" His hands shook slightly, expression saddening. "I know you're lying."

Despite the tension in the air, Aster stepped to Richter's side and rested a hand atop the nearer shoulder; the blond leaning slightly on his best friend. "Your reaction's understandable. I've heard that Ozette is known for its contempt for half-elves." His lime eyes softened, meeting Mithos' directly. "If you lived an isolated life in this village, you must have suffered."

Mithos' eyes narrowed at the hint of pity he heard Aster's voice. "I don't need a pathetic human like you to-"

"Relax," Raine stated. "No one here's going to hurt you. We're not your enemies, even if you don't consider us your allies."

Even for those who didn't have as good hearing, a bewildered "what happened here?" suddenly reached their ears. Upon leaving the house, they saw Altessa and Tabatha standing near the edge of the woods. He turned his gaze upon the travelers, the widening of a pair of eyes at the sight of Tabatha going unnoticed by the dwarf. "I saw the lightning of judgement fall towards this village, but what in the worlds-?"

"It was the work of Cruxis angels…"

Dark eyes widened beneath snow white eyebrows, clearly surprised. "Presea! You've regained your true self?" His voice softening only slightly, they assumed he was talking more to himself than anything. "How could they do this? Is this their punishment for failing the experiment…?"

"What do you mean, punishment?" Sheena wondered, only to get a rushed "nothing!" from the dwarf before he turned and ran away towards his house.

She tried to dash after him, but Tabatha side stepped into her path. "THE MASTER BELIEVES THAT IT IS HIS FAULT THAT OZETTE WAS DESTROYED," she stated in her painfully loud voice, causing all of the half-elves present to cringe at least a little.

"Altessa is connected to Ozette?" Colette pondered aloud, but it wasn't clear if she was expecting any sort of answer.

Tabatha paused for a moment, trying to decide wether to give a response or simply turn and follow her master. "…YES. EXCUSE ME. I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE MASTER." As she left, a young boy's gaze watched her in carefully disguised disgust.

Presea soon started off in the same direction. "I'm...going to follow him."

Nodding, Regal followed, soon joined by all of them except Lloyd and Genis. Although unnoticed by most, a pair of dark green eyes kept glancing back as the trio talked; the two older boys trying to get Mithos to come with them. Eventually, the blond allowed himself to be persuaded shortly before Genis offered a hand to his kinsman. "Welcome to the group, Mithos." He grinned happily, the number of half-elven friends he made in Tethe'alla increasing by one, as the youngest of the three accepted the hand awkwardly.

"Thanks, Genis." Even though his words were accepted without the slightest bit of suspicion, Mithos mentally slapped himself. _He didn't introduce himself. . .I'm not supposed to know his name yet. If anyone were to notice that, I'm sure they'd question me about it the first chance they got._

* * *

Smoke continued to billow from the burnt buildings as a single male strode around what used to be Ozette's main gathering area, his gaze wandering towards the inn momentarily. Sapphire eyes gazed on in both confusion and sadness. Why had this happened? What was the purpose of burning down an entire village? He could barely sense the presence of the Chosen's group and at least four half-elves were with them. His eyes widened, each of the auras sharpening slightly. The Sage siblings, he knew counted for half of them, and if his sources were accurate and he was correct about another of them...who was the last one?

He didn't have enough time to ponder that question all that much, for the side of the building closest to him soon collapsed, the shadow of a middle-aged male slowly appearing in the rubble. Said male made his way into the light of the flames, the unsheathed sword at his side blending in well with it's surrounding; almost looking like fire itself. "Yuan?"

"Kratos!" The bluenette rushed over, concern written all over his face. "What in Origin's name were you doing in a building like that? You may have lived longer than most humans but that still doesn't mean you can't die you know!" Despite the seeming anger in his voice, they both could tell the half-elf was quite worried about his friend. A small item laid cradled in the human's left arm, it's odd shape attracting the other's attention. "What's that?"

Dark red, almost brown eyes rose to meet a pair of blue. "The only real survivor of this city." Muffled sounds filled the air, slowly being able to be better heard as Kratos pulled back the ashen material to reveal a small puppy. "He's the son of a dog the Chosen named when she first came here. His name is-"

"Wait, how do you know that? Didn't they mark you as a traitor after the ordeal in the Tower?" Nodding, he explained how the item shop manger had told him about her dog and how Colette had immediately named her "Chappy" when the blond had seen her laying in the sun outside the front door. His words resulted in a low chuckle from his friend, sapphire gaze sparkling slightly. "Wow, I never thought that she was going to be so random. When I met her briefly a few weeks or so ago she seemed much more serious...Although that might have been because I wasn't on their side at the time."

"Just how much interaction have you had with the Chosen's group?"

A hand rose, gesturing for his fellow Seraphim to follow him. "Come back to the base and I assure you we'll have lots of time to catch up. You can even bring Lucky there with you if you'd like." Yuan turned, making his way towards Ozette's main entrance.

"...Lucky?" Kratos' questioning tone made the other pause. "Why Lucky?"

Glancing over his shoulder, the bluenette grinned; his expression only a shadow of what it used to be. "Because you saved him from the fire Yggdrasill started."

Kratos' grip on the Flamberge tightened at his friend's words, voice losing any sort of emotion as he spoke his next words. "You mean Mithos did this?" Yuan nodded, deciding to keep quiet when he saw the frown on the human's face. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know. All I saw were some of his angels flying away from the area on my way to meet up with Botta at the base. When I got here, I didn't see anyone until you appeared." Silence fell upon them momentarily until Kratos decided to take up the previous offer of settling down to talk. Unknown to either of them, a young boy smiled slightly as he felt the two leaving the area.

* * *

"I'm sorry…"

Presea turned her back on Altessa. "...Don't apologize. Even if you do, I...I can't forgive you right now.

With not a single word in response, Altessa turned and left the clearing in front of his house to go inside; leaving the travelers, Mithos, and Tabatha outside. "PRESEA" The green-haired female began, once again harming the surrounding eardrums. "…I BELIEVE YOUR LOSS HAS BEEN GREAT. BUT PLEASE, DO NOT LOSE YOURSELF AS WELL." With that, she followed her master into the house.

Silence met her words, most of them staring after her as they tried to figure out why she would say what she had, while others simply allowed their thoughts to have their full attention. After a bit, the youngest blond looked around at his new acquaintances. "I-I think I can understand Presea's feelings a little. Some things..." Mithos' gaze flickered towards the door. "Some things never came back. Even if he apologizes…even if you want to forgive, you can't control those feelings."

"Not being forgiven…that may be punishment."

Lloyd glanced over at Regal, his expression serious for once. "I don't think that's right. Not being forgiven isn't a punishment. . . I can't really explain it more than that, but-"

"To some people it is, Lloyd." Chocolate eyes spun to look around at the one whom had interrupted him in surprise. Richter crossed his arms in front of his chest, dark green eyes meeting the teen's gaze. "For some people, living unforgiven is a fate worse than death; especially if they know there was something they could have done to prevent another's hatred. Although now isn't exactly the time to discuss this. It's more important that you and your companions decide what to do next in your journey to make pacts."

His words caused some of those around him to stare in confusion, yet Raine was not one of them. "Yes, you're right." She looked around at her friends and family. "As for me, I think we should take this opportunity to ask Altessa all he knows about Cruxis considering the small amount of information we currently possess. Wouldn't you agree?" Most of them nodded, seeing the logic to the half-elven woman's statements, although Presea seemed to be still lost in her own thoughts. "Presea…" The pink-haired girl looked up. "Would you rather wait here while we go talk to Altessa?"

She shook her head slowly. "No...I shall listen as well."

With that, they all made their way into Altessa's house, meeting up with Tabatha at the door. She politely welcomed them in and led the way to where Altessa had resumed trying to work on a few things in his workshop. Upon hearing their arrival, the dwarf turned to scan the group assembled before him. "Do you have business with me?"

Lloyd stepped forward, just about two steps closer to the older male than Genis was. "Can you tell us about Cruxis?" Altessa's only response was a simple "…It'll be a long story" to which the brunette shrugged. "That's fine with us."

* * *

*chuckles* so, what do you think?

Note: Since I doubt most people look at my profile, I'll mention it here as well. I've decided to rewrite some of the earlier chapters because they disappoint me as a writer at points. Though I'm not surprised because this story was originally started in 2007. I won't be adding anymore new chapters until I have finished editing the previous ones. If you'd like, you can re-read them in the mean time...or, find more awesome stories like this one. ^_^


	31. Goodbye, Ozette

Yup, it's finally here after who knows how long of a wait. So, here ya go!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything even slightly related to either Tales of Symphonia game. That's all Namco's stuff. Although anything out of the ordinary that doesn't seem like it came from the game...that's all my idea.

* * *

Chapter 30

"…Cruxis is an organization made up almost entirely of half-elves. There are a large number of dwarves besides me involved as well. Their objectives are to begin the Age of Half-elves and the revival of Martel. For that purpose, they make use of the Church of Martel and try to fuse the Chosen with Martel's consciousness." The gruff voice of Altessa made its' way from where he stood to all those around him in the main room of the dwarf's home. Only his fellow usual occupant and creation, Tabatha, wasn't present; she was too busy with her duties. The shortest, and probably eldest, continued his explanation. All the while attempting to answer the questions posed by various members of the Chosens' group. "Similar to Exspheres, Cruxis Crystals are awakened by their hosts' fear, suffering, and combat instincts. Thus, in order to facilitate the angel transformation, the Desians deliberately put the Chosen in danger.

Regal's frown deepened, his question rising with the slightly angry tone to it. "Rodyle…what is he scheming?"

Turning his attention solely onto the bluenette, Altessa caught his gaze. "The revival of the Mana Cannon. Somehow, he has obtained the plans to the Mana Cannon and is constructing it in Sylvarant. Most likely, he's forcing the captives of his ranch to construct it. My understanding is, once it's complete, he probably intends to build his own empire." The dwarf continued his long-winded explanation, answering whatever questions the group of traveling misfits might ask. Eventually he told them that he had heard that Yggdrasill was the one who had basically created the two worlds, connecting them via four mana links that surrounded the Great Seed in order to guard it. This resulted in a slight sidetrack off onto one of the legends involving the hero, Mithos.

However, at that point, the young half-elf with the same name as the hero took over the explanation. "That's what people called the soul of Mithos, who died on the Holy Ground of Kharlan after the close of the Ancient War."

Genis' eyes narrowed in concentration. While that's true, why does the same legend exist in both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant? It seems too convenient. First, we found out there were two Holy Grounds of Kharlan, then two Towers of Salvation, but now the legend of Mithos is the same too? How's that possible?"

"Actually, it does somewhat make sense, Genis." All eyes turned towards the young blond researcher. "If you think of the two worlds as something that this Yggdrasill created from a single world, then it's likely the Hero Mithos could have traveled between them at their poles."

While most stared at Aster in surprise, the professor amongst them appeared to be thinking things over, murmuring to herself for a little bit. "Bipolar...that could be it...yes."

"What could be it, my gorgeous beauty?"

Raine looked over at the Chosen of Mana. "This is my theory. Perhaps the Ancient War was in fact a war between Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, and the hero Mithos arranged the truce that ended the war. And if we assume that one of the two poles is the Holy Ground of Kharlan, then we can understand the meaning of the existence of two Holy Grounds. That's the door between the two worlds."

"…Yes, that makes sense," Regal commented, nodding slightly. "Considering the people of Tethe'alla are aware of the existence of Sylvarant, I've heard many ideas regarding the bipolar structure of the worlds, but yours works from a logical standpoint." His words caught most of their attention, resulting a curious question of what other sorts of idea there were. "There is a legend passed down in Altamira about something called the Otherworldly Gate. Some say that that is a pole."

While the elder Sage sibling wandered back into her own thoughts, Colette stepped forward a few times, nearing Altessa to ask him a question. "...So, what is the Great Seed?" Clearly, she hadn't been paying enough attention to the others' current conversation. Either that, or she had just gotten to understanding the part of the conversation involving the Great Seed.

Whichever explanation it was, Altessa decided to answer her regardless. "I don't know that either. But Lord Yggdrasill said that it was more important than his life."

Lloyd's head dropped into his hands, both elbows resting on his knees. "...I can't wrap my head around all of this at once…"

"Well, you all must be tired by now," Altessa remarked, both his hands gesturing around the room. "Why don't you rest here for the night?" He offered, turning towards the young blond half-elf afterwards. "You said your name was Mithos, right? If you don't have anywhere else to go, you could stay here for a while."

Blue eyes widened at the kindness. "Are you sure that's okay? I'm a half-elf. . ."

"Why wouldn't it be? The only ones living here are Tabatha, who I made, and me, a dwarf."

His words earned him surprised looks all around, but mostly from the younger folk. Aster's eyes in particular light up at the information, but the Chosen of Regeneration beat him to asking what he wanted to know. "You mean, you made Tabatha?"

Altessa nodded "Yes, she's an automated doll. So having a half-elf here isn't a problem at all."

With that, it was decided. Mithos would stay with Altessa and Tabatha for the time being, just to make sure he was safe, and the rest of them took up the offer to stay for the night. So Tabatha and Regal wandered off towards the kitchen to make dinner, those with better hearing cringing slightly each time she spoke before leaving the room. It left those with not much else to do to themselves. Seeing as there were more half-elves than just him, Mithos asked Genis if he could play until dinner was prepared. However, they made sure to keep under the watchful eye of Raine as she and Aster continued on the theories of the bi-polar worlds.

* * *

"So you're saying none of your Renegades could find any information into why Mithos burned Ozette?" As he spoke, Kratos leaned semi-relaxed against the wall of his friend's office near Flanoir. The rebel leader nodded silently, his cerulean gaze narrowed. "Where's his last known location?"

Yuan strode over to his desk, partially taking a seat upon its surface. "If I'm right, he had just left Ozette before I got there."

All of a sudden, a series of soft beeps came from the bluenette's pocket. Quickly retrieving a small device, Yuan pressed the single button on the side while raising it to his lips. He exchanged a momentary glance with his friend before speaking. "Finally reporting in like you're supposed to I see. What is it?"

A fuzzy, slightly computerized voice came through the speaker on the back. "I wanted to ask you if your boss has any defining features." Despite the alteration, the inflection clearly defined the speaker to both seraphim as none other than a certain womanizing redhead.

Raising what looked like only one eyebrow, but was probably both, the Renegade leader's lips curved down into a frown. "What purpose would telling you that be?"

It was clear to them both Zelos shrugged despite being unable to be seen. " 'Cause I don't think I'm the only one keepin' tabs on Lloydie and his friends anymore. There's some-"

"Wait, where are you?"

"The forest near what used to be Ozette, why?"

"No one's around, correct?"

A sigh. "I'm not as stupid as ya may think. Of course no one else's around here but me." There was a slight pause in the Chosen of Mana's response, suspicion slowly creeping into his voice. "Can you say the same?"

Yuan almost rolled his eyes before he realized how childish it would appear, and no self-respecting, 4000 plus year old half-elf would ever do such a thing. . . Especially not around Kratos. Memories of the auburn male's reaction to the first time he'd rolled his eyes at something his almost fiancee's little brother had made fun of his dislike of cooking came to mind, stopping him. "That doesn't matter now, tell me what you contacted me for and get back to Lloyd."

Chuckling to himself, it took a moment for Zelos to compose himself enough to talk. "Fine, fine." There was a distinct hint of a shrug going along with his words. "There's just this kid we picked up from Ozette that looks like a mini Yggdrasill." Both males' eyes widened. "So I'll ask again, any defining-?"

"If he has a pair of purple bracelets on his right wrist and only one on the other, keep your distance from him. He can't know that you've realized he's not as innocent I have no doubt he's claimed to be."

"Alright, over and out then, Yuan." With that, a soft click echoed from the speaker and concluded the conversation on the Chosen's end.

Dark red-brown eyes stared at those of the half-elven seraph. "Seems we know where Mithos is now."

* * *

That very next morning, the small house was lively with concern. While Colette was given the job of waking their resident sleepyhead to tell the brunette the news, the rest of them were discussing what had happened and where their missing healer might have gone. Apparently, Tabatha had seen a rheaird going south earlier that morning. Combined with Raine's short note mentioning about wanting to investigate something, Genis, Aster, and Zelos had deduced that she went to find the Otherworldly Gate.

Once the dual swordsman had finally gotten out of bed, it was decided that the band of misfits would go and find her.

"Ah…um…" A soft voice started, seemingly coming from the doorway. "Will you take me with you?"

All but Zelos and Richter turned towards the young blond in question. The pair of redheads were much more interested in preparing the rheairds for them to go retrieve Raine. "What are you talking about?" Genis replied, his eyes widening. "It's dangerous."

"I know that, but I'm worried about her. There are monsters all over Tethe'alla right now. This is the first time I've met another half-elf besides me, so…I want her to be okay."

Lloyd shook his head, clearly thinking that Mithos would be too defenseless for his own good.

"I think he should come with us. After all, I think it'd be better if we knew where he was and if he was safe than allowing for the possibility of him wandering out on his own around here. Judging by the terrain, it looks like the dirt around here isn't all too stable. If there were to be any kind of earthquake, it's possible part of the cliffs could fall and harm anyone outside."

Zelos' gaze fell upon the young researcher. "Say, you sure you're human, kid?" To which he almost immediately got a glare from the blond's best friend. "I mean, no offense, but I don't know many humans who pay that close attention to their surroundings."

A slightly high pitched scoff was the first thing heard as a response as Sheena could be seen resting a pair of fists on her hips. "With the company you keep I'm surprised they can even walk sometimes."

"Still, it's too dangerous," Lloyd responded, glancing in between Genis and Mithos, his gaze landing on the former. "I know he's your friend, but-"

"And that's why he should come, Lloyd!" The silver-haired mage protested. "No doubt he's worried about Raine as much as I am...and if it comes to a fight, I'll protect him, so there's nothing to worry about!"

The brunette let out a sigh. "…Fine, fine, all right. Do what you like!"

"Thank you, Lloyd!" They pair of younger half-elves smiled, answering at the same time.

So, the slowly increasing number of travelers began boarding the rheairds to head South towards Altamira. However, just as Lloyd and Presea were about to get onto separate machines, one behind Zelos while the other was going to be the pilot, Altessa opened the front door to his home and strode out until he was beside the pair. "Wait, this is for Presea…" In his hand was a small, golden key crest. "I know it's hardly enough to call it an apology, but I went ahead and made one. It will be more reliable than that make shift one she has now."

With nothing more than a glance towards her in agreement, Lloyd nodded. "Thanks, Altessa."

* * *

Once arriving at Altamira, they dismounted the rheairds and made their way towards the entrance of the seaside resort town. That is, all but one. Regal paused just before he stepped onto the brick path designating the city limits from the fields in front of it. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to wait here."

His words caused all eyes to turn in slight confusion towards him; the brunette dual swordsman the most. "What's up?"

When the convict didn't answer right away, the Chosen of Mana stepped beside Lloyd and draped an arm around his shoulders, his gaze locked on Regal. "Well, if you don't wanna talk about it, that's your business. Let's just go on without pops here and let him do what he wants." General consensus agreed with the redhead, all but Regal soon making their way into town. As he passed the older male by, Zelos noticed a pair of curious eyes watching him. He gave a barely noticeable shrug, making sure to make eye contact just before hurrying to join Lloyd up near the front of the group.

Thinking it the most logical of ways to go about looking for information on Raine, they all split into groups of two or three: Lloyd and Zelos headed towards the hotel, Richter and Aster took a ride over to the amusement park, Genis and Mithos went down to the beach, and Sheena, Colette and Presea stayed outside on the main parkway to talk to the people around there. They had decided to meet back at the entrance of the hotel in two hours to go over what they'd found out, if anything.

As the trio of females made their way further and further from the entrance of town, they came across a path off to their right that led to a large stone. They headed towards the man who was just standing there, gazing up at the few markings upon it, in order to ask him if he'd seen anyone who looked like Raine.

Although they didn't quite get the chance as their footsteps caused him to turn and face the three of them. As they neared, it was clear his gaze was locked right on Presea; eyes widened in shock. "Alicia? Is it really you?"

Presea froze. "You...know Alicia?"

Seeming slightly confused, the well-dressed man stared down at the pink-haired girl. "If you're not Alicia, then who-?"

"Alicia is my...sister."

It was clear neither of them had met before, but somehow this man knew a relative of her's. Time seemed to stop for a few moments until the man nodded slowly. "Oh...I see. Of course…" As the words left his mouth, his eyes shifted away from Presea and down to the ground to his side. "Alicia passed away quite some time ago. She couldn't possibly be standing here now…"

Each and every one of the girls' eyes widened, but the youngest the most. "Passed away?" Presea questioned, Sheena asking to know what had happened to the girl almost at the same time.

"Alicia came to work in the service of the noble Bryant family, but she was caught up in an unfortunate incident that resulted in her death…" He looked to each of them in turn, sorrow clear in his eyes. "Forgive me, but I dare not speak of the details. Alicia's grave lies in the Sky Terrace of the Lezareno Company headquarters. Please stop by there if you have the time. Alicia would surely be pleased to receive a visit from her younger sister. If you show this to the receptionists, they should let you through." With that, he took out a small rectangular piece of paper enclosed in plastic and handed it to Presea, and then made his way past the three females.

Sheena shifted most of her weight onto her right foot, turning to look straight at the pink-haired wood worker in confusion. "Younger sister? I don't remember you mentioning you've got an older sister along with the younger one you told us about before."

Bright blue eyes light up happily, the hands connected to them slightly bouncing up and down in front of their owner. "Oh, I know! Maybe there are three sisters in all!"

Sighing, Sheena remarked that they should probably be getting back to the hotel to meet up as it was almost time.

* * *

Light blue eyes glanced over at their current only companion in concern, taking in the worried expression upon the young half-elf's face. "Mithos, are you okay?" Genis wondered, the sand beneath his feet shifting slightly as he more than half his weight shifted onto his left, forward foot in order to get a better look at the young blond's face.

Blond hair wavered with a nod of the older boy's head. "I'm fine. It's just that we don't know if Raine is alright or not. I mean, she's my friend and I want to make sure she's okay."

The pair continued on down the beach, asking anyone they passed if they had seen a woman with silver hair and orange clothes. Unfortunately, their search so far hadn't given any more information than what they started out with.

"You and Raine are really close…"

Genis paused, turning completely to stare at his friend in confusion. "Well, yeah...Raine's been the one to take care of me ever since I can remember, but why did you mention that all of a sudden?"

"Because I miss my sister," Mithos responded, eyes narrowing slightly. "I couldn't help but be reminded of her when I saw Tabatha. Her hair's similar to my sister's and I…" his voice trailed off, partially due to sadness but also his mind telling him to keep Genis away from more personal information.

The young mage shook his head. "It's okay, you don't have to explain anymore if you don't want to." He grinned, tapping the blond's head lightly. "If you want, I'm sure Raine would be glad to take you in as one of us. After all, you're one of my best friends, Mithos."

Mithos' gaze rose to look directly at his fellow half-elf curiously."...Better than Lloyd?"

"Uh…" The younger of them glanced around at those currently occupying the sandy area. "That looks like everyone...think we should head back to the hotel?"

The blond looked to the sand, eyelids falling to partially cover his eyes. _Why does that make me so angry? To be considered less than a human? That's how life's always been, so why should now be any different? Blue eyes stared at his kin's back, forced to keep any emotion from showing. Could it be because he's a half-elf too?_

* * *

"Well, I guess that's better than anything we found about our cool professor, so why not head over to the Lezareno Company's headquarters before leaving to meet up with the old man?"

Most of their gazes shifted towards the young lumberjack for her opinion on the matter, seeing as they were planning to visit her sister's grave. "I… want to go too…"

With that, they followed the flamboyant redhead out of the hotel and arrived at the company building after a short tram ride. Zelos strode with purpose towards the elevator on the left side of the main room, only to be stopped by the security guard there. "I'm sorry, but may I ask your reason for visiting our company today?"

Presea shuffled forward, the item she and her fellow females had been given in her hand, and showed it to the man before her. "Sky Terrace."

His eyes widened upon recognizing the item before him as the president's personal advisor George's ID card. "This is George's!" He bowed his head. "My deepest apologies. Please, go on inside."

Once again taking the lead, Presea by his side this time, Zelos led the way into the elevator and up to the top floor. Outside atop what one would assume was the roof was a multitude of flowers along with a fountain. However, the thing that first caught the young pink-haired girl's attention was the gravestone in the center of a pair of intersecting pathways. "Alicia…what happened to you?" Presea murmured, standing gloomily before the stone.

Bright green eyes widened, gaze focusing in on the gem embedded into the grave. "What's an Exsphere doing up here?" Aster wondered softly.

Suddenly, a ghostly form of a young girl with short, pink hair tied back into a pair of high ponytails dressed in a maid uniform appeared floating inches from the top of the gravestone. "Presea…sis! It's you, isn't it?"

Presea's eyes widened a bit, her emotions still unable to be expressed easily. "Alicia?"

A small smile graced Alicia's translucent face. "I'm so happy I get to see you before disappearing completely…"

"What's going on?" The older sibling, although younger in appearance, wondered. "Are you still alive?"

The younger girl shook her head. "I… I exist only in the Exsphere." Alicia explained calmly. "Soon, even my consciousness will be gone. The Exsphere killed my body and absorbed my consciousness."

For Presea's sake, those around her remained silent. Even Zelos could tell that it was not the time for him to speak and disturb such a meeting. "...I can't believe you've become a victim of the Exsphere as well…

"Please, please grant me this request." Alicia pleaded, her clasped hands coming up just above her waist. "Before I disappear, please find my master. Please find Master Bryant..." Slowly her already translucent form began to disappear even more. "by killing me, he…"

The young woodcutter stepped forward in surprise. "Alicia! He killed you? Please, tell me what happened!"

"…Please…Presea…"

Silence fell upon the gathered group of misfits, eyes either staring at the gravestone or Presea herself. After who knows how long passed, Presea turned towards their unofficial leader. "Lloyd, please help me find Alicia's killer."

Nodding, the brunette in red's expression turned gentle. "...Of course." As he continued, a grin mad its way onto his face. "If he won't come willingly, we'll beat this Bryant guy to a pulp and drag him back here!"

"Yeah! I won't let him get away with killing your sister!"

Their words brought a small smile to the pigtailed girl's face, her gaze narrowing in on Genis and Lloyd. "...Thank you." Looking around her she saw determined expressions and nods from her friends. "Thank you all."

With that decided, most of the group atop the Lezareno Company roof turned towards the nearest elevator to go down and tell Regal they didn't have any luck finding information on Raine's whereabouts. The only one who hadn't moved from where he'd been standing was Mithos, his blue eyes locked on Alicia's grave. Noticing it, a set of light green eyes watched as Genis made his way back to the blond's side.

The young mage titled his head to the side, glancing in between his friend and the stone. "What's wrong?"

"…Exspheres are terrible things, aren't they?…"

Genis nodded. "Yeah...

"Hey, it's time to go, guys."

They turned around at the sound of the voice, nodding to Aster just before the two young half-elves hurried to join the large group by the elevator.

* * *

Just as the first few members of the group were getting off the elevator, both Richter and Mithos turned towards a pair of young men near the opposite wall.

"Isn't the Otherworldly Gate going to open tonight?"

"Man, I don't like thinking about that. It could suck us over into the hellish land of Sylvarant."

The young blond glanced at his friend, getting a nod in return. "Lloyd, that guy just mentioned the Otherworldly Gate."

Lloyd, having only just heard a slight mention of Sylvarant, looked at the blond in confusion. "Really?"

"Yes, now come on!" Genis told him, making his way to the two guys, all but the two researchers following his lead.

Richter sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know, this detour may take us to Sylvarant. Having been the one who's actually gone to study them, you should know better than anyone what the legends and rumors about the gate are, Aster."

The blond next to him glanced over at the large group talking to the pair of working young men before looking to his side and up at the redhead. "Yeah, I know. But who knows if the gate will even open or not? No one's ever proved that the gate actually works." His eyes light up with a thought. "But think of the possibilities! If we get to Sylvarant, we can actually go see if the other Centurions are where we've speculated them to be."

"No, Aster. It's too dangerous. What if we can't find a way back?"

Light green orbs stared in surprise up at the darker pair. "You'd want to come back? But don't you get? If what Genis and the others have said is correct, then there'd be no such thing as a caste system there. We'd be able to-"

Eyes narrowed behind thin glass, their owner's lips falling down into a more pronounced frown. "I don't have any need to stay in a place I'm not used to. Not only do we have no map of the area, thus making it easier to get lost, we also don't know what sorts of laws there are and if something we'd do without knowing them would wind of breaking them." While he could easily come up with more excuses not to go there, despite the customs in Tethe'alla, one of the main reasons was he knew just why his friend wanted to go to stay in Sylvarant: no caste system meant half-elves like Richter wouldn't have to worry about people looking down on him simply for what he was. Although he doubted Aster remembered the young silver-haired mage mentioning that he and his sister had hid the fact they were half-elves due to most humans and elves looking upon them with hatred. According to those from Sylvarant, half-elves were hated and feared simply because a group called Desians were half-elven.

Richter strode over towards the rest of the group, Aster soon catching up, in time to hear Colette wonder if there were any sorts of landmarks to find the Otherworldly Gate.

"There are huge rocks all over it. You can't miss it. But tonight's a full moon. If the legend is true, then the gate will open and you'll be sucked into the world of Sylvarant!"

Lloyd thanked them, leading the way back towards the tram that would take them to the main part of Altamira. On the way to the entrance, they decided that it was the best and only clue they had to finding Raine.

Just as he had been when they first entered, Regal was waiting a few feet away from the entrance gate. When he saw them approaching, the blue-haired man stood. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, we figured out where the professor might be." The dual swordsman turned to his friends. "Alright, let's go everyone."

Most nodded in agreement and were soon boarding the rheairds. As they did, Richter made his way towards the brunette. "This is where we part ways."

"Huh? Why?"

"It's far too dangerous of a journey for simple researchers such as Aster and myself. Despite its possible merits," he slightly conceded, his dark green eyes glancing towards his best friend. "we still have places to see on this side. It would be foolish to stop our research of the Tethe'allan Centurions before finding all we can about them."

With a nod, Lloyd grinned. And with a short 'see you later then', stepped aboard the rheaird Zelos was going to pilot. Although as the machines were taking off, the redheaded Chosen tossed a small pack down to the pair.

"Can't say I didn't do anything for ya now!"

As they disappeared up and into the sky, Richter examined the item they were given. "What is it?"

"...It's a rheaird."

* * *

Time passed as the group of travelers made their way through the sky. Soon enough, a small island came into view. As they neared it, they could see a group of large rocks in the formation of somewhat of a circle. Although it was about midday when they left Altamira, the sun had already set by the time Lloyd and his friends landed near the rocks. "Professor!" He shouted, jumping from the rheaird and running towards her.

Raine turned away from the stone she had been studying to face the group, eyes widening in surprise. "Everyone!…Why are you all here?"

"Why do you think we're here?" Her brother demanded, hands and arms flicking out and away from his sides. "We were worried about you!"

Mithos nodded. "It's dangerous to come here by yourself," he agreed. "As a fellow half-elf, I can't just leave you here…"

"Why did you come here, anyway?"

The silver-haired woman turned away, her eyes glazing over slightly. "This...is where Genis and I were abandoned." Almost immediately, both Lloyd and Genis objected; the brunette questioning her statement by saying the Sages were from Sylvarant. "…No, Lloyd." Raine responded, her voice slightly sullen. "I happened to catch sight of this place when we rescued Colette and it's been on my mind ever since. Then, when I heard the story about the two poles which connect the two worlds, I became certain. The images in my memory…the ruin I've been searching for all this time is this place."

Chocolate brown eyes widened, an off-hand remark mentioned once to him in Asgard coming to mind. Although before he could ask, Sheena was already asking Raine if she and Genis had really been born in Tethe'alla.

"It can't be!" Genis shouted, a foot stomping on the ground. "All my memories are of Iselia! I don't know this place at all."

She let out a soft sigh, eyes closing temporarily despite the fact than none of them could currently see her face. "…We were born and raised in the village of the elves, from which we were eventually ostracized. We were abandoned here because this place was said to be the path to the legendary Sylvarant."

"Wait, the village of the elves?" Mithos repeated in slight disbelief. "The secret village said to be off-limits to anyone except elvenkind?"

"Yes," Raine nodded, still refusing to face the rest of her companions. "I don't know the details of what happened, but I'm positive that I was left here along with Genis when he was just a newborn. And we eventually ended up in Sylvarant."

All of a sudden, a very angry voice called over to them. "Then this time, let me send you to hell instead!"

All nine of them turned to look up towards the top of the slightly raised earth surrounding the gate. There stood a familiar young ninja dressed completely in red with at least four or five Papal Knights behind him.

"Kuchinawa!" Sheena shouted, her eyes widening. "What are you talking about?…"

Slowly, Kuchinawa strode forward. "My chance to avenge my parents' deaths has finally arrived." He explained, a single hand gesture told the knights with him to surround the partly Sylvaranti group.

"...Avenge your parents?" The summoner repeated, a hint of fear in his tone of voice.

He nodded, gaze narrowing in on only Sheena. "Correct. You will die for killing my parents along with countless others of our village when you failed to control Volt."

Seeing as she was too shocked to respond at the moment, Lloyd stepped up and slightly to his side to stand in between the pair of Mizuhoans. "That was an accident! Why are you doing this now?"

"Accident?" Kuchinawa yelled, his voice dripping with hatred. "I could have accepted things if she just failed to make a pact with a Summon Spirit. But then, she failed to assassinate the Chosen of Sylvarant, thereby placing Mizuho in danger. Yet look at her now. She's made pacts with Summon Spirits just like that."

Colette shook her head. "Y-you have it all wrong!"

His attention snapped towards the Chosen of Regeneration, keeping Lloyd and Sheena in the corner of his vision. "Do I?" He demanded, turning back to glare directly at his fellow ninja. "I think you weren't really trying during the first pact-making! Because of that, my parents and our people died!"

"I did the best I could! I-"

"Enough excuses!" Kuchinawa stated, raising a hand into the air. "Kill them!" He shouted as the hand came swiftly down to his shoulder level.

Three of the Papal Knights present stepped forward, attacking them. Those whose weapons were meant for close range fighting surrounded those who cast spells, giving the enough time to properly gather enough mana to cast their techniques.

"Guys, keep them close!" Genis shouted, a light purple circle slowly forming beneath him. "I call upon thee in the land of the dead, to unleash thy fury of thunder…" he murmured, concentrating solely on the kendama in his grasp. "Indignation!" The circle beneath him grew, surrounding each and every person involved in the battle. The high voltage of electricity sped through the metal armor, wiping out all three of the knights at once.

Although it worked, Genis fell to his knees in exhaustion as more knights took the places of those who had fallen. "Damn, there's too many of them!" Lloyd commented, backing up to defend his best friend as he tried to regain energy.

Sheena dashed towards Kuchinawa, her arms spread to her sides. "Kuchinawa, please!" She shouted, calling everyone's attention on her and temporarily stopping the fight. "Don't drag them into this! I'm the one you despise right?" The summoner stated, her right hand drawing in to rest just below her collarbone. "Then I'm the only one you need to kill!"

Her friends' eyes widened, a pair of blue and one of brown the most out of them all. "Don't talk like that, Sheena!" Lloyd told her.

Without even looking at the brunette's face, she told him it'll be okay. "Kuchinawa…please!"

The red Mizuhoan shrugged, motioning for her to come closer. "Fine."

Just as she starts to take a step forward, a light from the moon came shooting down towards the Otherworldly Gate; activating it.

The Chosen of Mana sighed in frustration. "You've **got** to be kiddin' me." He dashed forward, taking a hold of the ninja's arm. "Enough of this, Sheena!" Moving quickly towards the gate, Zelos shouted to the rest of the misfits to hurry up and get into the gate. Being the first one there, he dragged Sheena and they soon disappeared into thin air.

Soon, all nine of them were gone from the island, but when Kuchinawa tried to reach it, the gate had already closed. "Damnit!" Kuchinawa exclaimed, stomping his foot upon the ground where the gate had been only moments before. "The guardian signature trail disappeared! They've escaped into Sylvarant."

* * *

Yup, that's all for now. What did you think?

Sylvarant, here we come!


End file.
